Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

Claws are out over a directive to restrict the movements of two popular moggies at Taranaki Base Hospital.

Pip, and more recent arrival Pablo, are a common sight at the hospital – but staff have been told the animals are not permitted in hospital buildings, citing infection prevention and clinical safety standards.

Taranaki Base Hospital says only approved service animals are allowed in hospital buildings.

Ngaere woman Tracey Blake said Pip was a godsend when her daughter was in and out of hospital during a difficult pregnancy, while also having to care for a toddler.

“Pip kept an 18-month-old entertained. Walking into maternity, walking through the maternity doors, he was there and he was never a problem.

“He was just a real lift for our day, and every time we went there he gave little grandchild something to look forward to. It was just amazing.”

She thought the mental wellbeing of patients should also be a consideration.

“It’s a proven fact that having an animal can help alleviate stress, and if it gives a moment of peace shouldn’t that outweigh any risk.

“He’s not in a birthing suite. He’s not actually going into where the babies are. He’s wandering the corridors, and I can’t see that that is any different than somebody coming in with dirty shoes.”

A petition was started on the Adventures of Pip Facebook page – where Pablo also features frequently – in support of the cats, and it had been flooded with messages.

Suz Cowley said Pip was a comfort to her 10-year-old son Theo when visiting his grandmother at the hospital.

“We were sitting waiting for my mum to be picked up, and Pip came strolling along and my son, he just adores cats. So he went up to approach him and Pip was sweet as with him, having a little cuddle on the floor, which was really lovely.”

She said hospital visits can be difficult for children, but not with Pip about.

“So Pip coming along just broke the boredom and yeah, it was instant friendship too. It was beautiful. And yeah, and mum managed to get a little pat with Pip too. It was beautiful.”

Holy Malcolm – a junior doctor at Taranaki Base – is Pablo’s owner. She said the two-and-a-half-year-old birman was a wanderer.

“One day when I was walking to a night shift I hadn’t seen him for a couple of days and he jumped out of the bushes besides our maternity ward, and I think we were both just as shocked to see each other there.

“And I thought it might have been a one-off, but everytime I’d come into work he’d be waiting outside ED or around the psych department.”

Malcolm had seen for herself how Pablo could lift people’s spirits.

“I’ve seen and heard how Pablo’s able to interact with people and the difference he can make to their day.

“A lot of people around hospital are having a rough time and I think if he can make that better I think that’s great.

“There’s a lot of evidence to suggest having an animal is really good for people’s health, you know, a lot of people are lonely and even if it’s the company of an animal I think that’s great.”

Malcolm said there was no argument that Pablo or Pip should not be allowed in ED, theatre or clinical areas.

Outside Taranaki Base Hospital most people were fans of the moggies.

“I think it’s terrible to trespass Pip,” said one hospital contractor.

But another woman was not so sure.

“From a practical point of view I don’t think good to have the cats in the buildings.”

A nurse came down in favour of the felines.

“I think the weight of opinion is that Pip was helpful for the patients and the staff.”

A young doctor was on the same page.

“I feel like he’s a pretty well-liked cat, everybody loves Pip staff and patients.”

Another staff member said Pip was well known in her family.

“He’s great, Pip, my baby niece is obsessed and everytime I come home from work she doesn’t ask me how my day was – she asks me how Pip is.”

In a statement, Te Whatu Ora group director operations Taranaki, Wendy Langlands, acknowledged the enjoyment Pip and Pablo brought to some staff and patients.

“Recently, staff were reminded of existing expectations around animals in clinical areas such as maternity and the neonatal unit. These expectations are in place to ensure we meet infection prevention and clinical safety standards that apply in healthcare settings.”

Langlands said only certified assistance animals, such as guide dogs, are allowed in hospital buildings, or those approved for palliative care and therapy visits.

“Our staff have been reminded not to feed animals or provide bedding. If an animal does wander into a building, staff have been advised to gently guide it back outside.

Hospital communications seen by RNZ said if the cats continued to come inside, staff should call security.

They were also warned to avoid being photographed with the felines in Health NZ uniform and sharing such images online.

Langlands said these expectations helped ensure the hospital environment remained safe for patients, whānau and staff.

“We acknowledge Pip and Pablo as a friendly presence around the hospital grounds.”

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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/2026/03/13/cat-scans-yes-cats-no-taranaki-base-hospital-bans-popular-moggies/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Extra demand on Gull’s discount day has left some of its petrol stations running low on fuel.

Gull said 3 percent of its sites had not been able to meet the extra demand from customers when it cut prices on its regular Thursday promotion.

Commenters online said Onehunga’s Gull was out of 95 and media reported that Greville Road, Henderson, Torbay, Takanini and Takapuna were also out of at least one sort of fuel.

“Sites that sold through yesterday, have, or are currently being refuelled for Gull’s customers by our logistics’ provider,” a spokesperson said.

AA spokesperson Terry Collins said the wider fuel network ran on a “just in time” basis and any extra demand from people panic buying would put stress on the system.

He said those stations would have a wait until the next delivery arrived.

Ongoing disruption in the Middle Easy, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, have pushed up oil prices as well as fears about its continued supply internationally.

• Have you tried to purchase petrol at a station that’s run out? Email susan.edmunds@rnz.co.nz

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said as of March 8, the country had 32.8 days’ worth of petrol in the country and 25.2 on the water. It also had 27.6 in the country of diesel and 22.3 on the water.

It said most oil companies had reported no supply chain issues.

At Z, a spokesperson said it was experiencing demand in some areas but the impacts on its ability to supply customers were “minimal”.

“Our teams are working as quickly and safely as possible to move fuel through our network. This is about getting fuel to the right places to meet demand, at this stage, there is no shortage of fuel overall.”

Last Friday, Gaspy said the average price of 91 was about $2.66 – falling to about $2.60 after the impact of the previous day’s discounts worked out of the system. This Friday, it had reached $2.90.

Anyone stockpiling petrol in their homes may need to check the implications for their insurance policies.

A spokesperson or the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman said it would present a fire hazard and a risk to property. “Insurers would likely not be comfortable with it.”

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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/2026/03/13/discount-day-wipes-out-some-gull-petrol-stations-as-panic-buying-adds-pressure/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A fourth person has died following a crash last month between a car and a campervan on State Highway 1, south of Blenheim.

Two people died at the scene, near Redwood Pass, and another died in hospital soon after the crash on February 22.

Police confirmed a fourth person died on Friday despite the best efforts of medical professionals.

One person remained in a serious condition in hospital.

The circumstances of the crash were still be investigated by police.

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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/2026/03/13/fourth-person-dies-after-crash-between-car-and-campervan-in-marlborough/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Human remains located on Coppermine Island (Mauipane), east of Whangārei have been identified as belonging to a person who went missing in May 2024.

He had been fishing at The Gap – a popular, but sometimes treacherous, fishing spot at Taiharuru.

On 20 December 2025, a member of the Department of Conservation contacted police after finding the remains on Coppermine Island (Mauipane).

The remains have since been examined by a pathologist, anthropologist, and ESR scientists to assist the police with identification.

Following the examination, the human remains have now been confirmed as those of missing person Ferzil Babu, who went missing while on a fishing trip at The Gap, Taiharuru on 1 May, 2024.

Police have since spoken with Babu’s family to inform them of the finding.

The body of a second fisherman who accompanied Babu on the fishing trip was recovered two days after they disappeared.

Sarath Kumar, 37, had been working as a nurse in Whangārei Hospital’s emergency department.

Police said they extended their sympathies to his loved ones at a difficult time.

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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/2026/03/13/remains-confirmed-as-ferzil-babu-who-disappeared-almost-two-years-ago/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Canterbury’s Selwyn District Council is mulling staff cuts and a recruitment freeze as councillors examine ways to keep this year’s rates rise down.

Councillors agreed on Wednesday to consult the public on an average rates increase of 5.4 per cent, with options of 4.9 per cent and 6.5 per cent also on the table in the draft annual plan.

While the proposed increases were less than half of last year’s 14.2 per cent hike, they excluded water charges and resulted in trade-offs.

The council had carved out savings in the draft plan by shifting some costs from general rates to user-pays, which could mean increased building consent costs, aquatic and fitness class fees and dog registration fees for ratepayers.

Selwyn mayor Lydia Gliddon said there were also savings to be made in-house, which could result in staff cuts.

“There’s a lot that we’re going to do internally and we need staff to quantify some of this stuff. At the moment we look at like a hiring freeze and actually do we need all of these roles, what are the core roles that we need to deliver core function of council and what are the ones that we don’t need and how do we lower our consultancy spend along side that as well,” she said.

“There are 75 open roles out at the moment, if we don’t need those roles we shouldn’t be recruiting for them.”

Total staff costs came to $47.3 million in the last financial year, compared to $32.7m in the 2022/23 financial year.

The draft plan said the lowest 4.9 per cent rates rise option could be achieved by significantly reducing recruitment at the council for the next year, removing some roles from budgets and significantly reducing consultant costs.

It was not recommended by staff, who said it could affect the council’s ability to meet its legal obligations and deliver services.

Gliddon said the 4.9 percent increase was yet to be fully modelled by the council.

“You’ve got to weigh up the risk. We can’t risk not delivering the level of service our community expects but we can’t charge the level of rates that we have been,” she said.

Gliddon believed general rates were subsidising some fees and charges more than they should.

“I think the user-pays is actually a better situation than the general rate having to offset at the rate that it is,” she said.

“I don’t think necessarily it’s fair if someone isn’t using something, they shouldn’t be paying or subsidising the full amount of it. It is a really fine line because you want to enable success of say facilities because there is a general good will in those and we want people to be using the space, and they’re paying a targeted rate for it, but it’s a bigger broader conversation and we need to figure this out with our community.”

The council would have to reduce its library programmes and exhibitions to achieve the 5.4 per cent increase.

The draft plan included investments in roading upgrades and maintenance, Lincoln’s town centre, replacement of the Whitecliffs bridge and remediation of the Leeston Medical Centre.

Gliddon said roading was one of the biggest infrastructure pressures the district was facing because it remained the fastest growing area in the country.

The council was predicting $213.6m in revenue during the next financial year, while it would spend $196.5m on operating expenses and $86m on capital infrastructure.

Gliddon said Selwyn’s rapid growth provided both an opportunity and a challenge for the council.

“We have national policy statements we’ve got to abide by providing 30 years worth of land for housing, that’s a lot when you’re a fast growing district. What we’re trying to do is try and release some of the burden from the general ratepayer having to subsidise growth because we know that’s not fair,” she said.

“We’re hoping that the development levy reform will come out and help us recover some of that.”

The council was in the process of recruiting a permanent chief executive after the resignation of Sharon Mason in December.

“We’ve appointed Sheffield as our recruitment agency. We’ve got a process to take place over the coming months. Ideally we’d like to have a permanent chief executive employed to go through the long term plan,” Gliddon said.

Public consultation on Selwyn’s draft annual plan opens on Monday.

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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/2026/03/13/selwyn-district-council-mulls-staff-cuts-to-keep-rates-rises-down/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A long-serving Wellington firefighter can chalk up another first after a callout to a toddler with a tambourine stuck on his neck.

The Johnsonville crew was called to the incident at a daycare centre around 10.20am on Friday.

Watch commander John Devereux said the child – thought to be about one – got the tambourine over his head and couldn’t get it off again.

“He wasn’t distressed at all. It was loosely around his neck. He was wearing it like a loose collar.”

Devereux said the musical instrument was made of laminated wood – no match for a pair of bolt cutters.

While the toddler was distracted by the fire engine, a crew member crept around the back of his head, Devereux said and snipped the tambourine off.

“I don’t think he even noticed.”

The callout was a first for Devereux in his 47 years in the fire service.

“I haven’t been to a tambourine over the head, but I have been to a couple of buckets over the head.”

He said dishwashing liquid or snips usually sorted those out.

Asked how the crew was feeling about the success, he said it was: “Just another day at the office”.

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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/2026/03/13/firefighter-hits-right-note-to-free-toddler-stuck-in-a-tambourine/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman who was found with several injuries in a remote area of West Auckland was put through an ordeal, police say.

A man was facing charges of abducting for sex, impeding breathing and injuring with intent after the woman was found in Cornwallis on Sunday just after 7am.

She was taken to a nearby police station and then transferred to hospital.

“I want to acknowledge the woman who came to the victim’s aid, and others who have assisted us in progressing the investigation,” Acting Detective Inspector Megan Goldie said.

“This has been a sensitive and complex investigation, and our team has worked quickly to progress our enquiry and identify a person of interest.

“This has included analysis of CCTV footage between central Auckland and west Auckland.”

A 49-year-old man was arrested in Auckland’s Mt Eden on Wednesday.

“Police have successfully opposed this man’s bail, and we can reassure the wider public that he is not in the community,” Goldie said.

“The charges themselves speak to a distressing ordeal that the victim has been through, and we will continue to support her through the next part of the process.”

They weren’t ruling out further charges.

The man would next appear in court on April 29.

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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/2026/03/13/man-charged-with-abducting-for-sex-after-woman-found-severely-injured-in-west-aucklands-cornwallis/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman who was found with several injuries in a remote area of West Auckland was put through an ordeal, police say.

A man was facing charges of abducting for sex, impeding breathing and injuring with intent after the woman was found in Cornwallis on Sunday just after 7am.

She was taken to a nearby police station and then transferred to hospital.

“I want to acknowledge the woman who came to the victim’s aid, and others who have assisted us in progressing the investigation,” Acting Detective Inspector Megan Goldie said.

“This has been a sensitive and complex investigation, and our team has worked quickly to progress our enquiry and identify a person of interest.

“This has included analysis of CCTV footage between central Auckland and west Auckland.”

A 49-year-old man was arrested in Auckland’s Mt Eden on Wednesday.

“Police have successfully opposed this man’s bail, and we can reassure the wider public that he is not in the community,” Goldie said.

“The charges themselves speak to a distressing ordeal that the victim has been through, and we will continue to support her through the next part of the process.”

They weren’t ruling out further charges.

The man would next appear in court on April 29.

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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/2026/03/13/man-charged-with-abdutcing-for-sex-after-woman-found-severely-injured-in-west-aucklands-cornwallis/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Nelson’s mayor says Air New Zealand’s cancellations of flights throughout the country will have a negative impact on the region’s tourism industry, which is only just recovering.

Air New Zealand is set to cancel around 1100 flights affecting thousands of passengers through until early May.

Air NZ chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar told Morning Report services would be cut “proportionally across the board”, meaning both domestic and international, but no routes would be cut altogether. Off-peak services would be the focus of the cuts, he said.

Air New Zealand was facing massive cost pressures, with the conflict in the Middle East increasing the price of jet fuel.

Nelson was one of the places that would be affected by flight cancellations, with mayor Nick Smith telling Morning Report, about 120 flights over six weeks had been cancelled on routes to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

“People aren’t in the mind to accept big increases in the fares, and so they’ve done a bit of fare raising as well as removing some of these services.”

Smith said he did appreciate Air NZ had moved flights in the middle of the day rather than early morning and evening which were “crucial” for Nelson.

The region did not have a tertiary hospital, he said, so many people depended on getting medical care in main centres like Wellington and Christchurch so air links were important.

He said the cancellations would have a negative impact on tourism for Nelson, and it was disappointing as the region had only just started to see tourism recover this Summer following the pandemic.

“The bigger worry for us is what’s going to happen at the end of six weeks, of course no one quite knows where the war in the Middle East is going to go.

“We need the support of our national airline so let’s hope by the time we get to May they can return those flights.”

He said he would ask the government to keep an open mind and if things continued perhaps there could be some help for the regions through domestic tourism promotion.

“The key thing for a region like Nelson is that we have those links to those main centres and also to keep Air NZ honest from a fares point of view that there is competition.

“Six weeks we can live with it, if it goes on longer than that we’ll be speaking with both Air NZ and the government.”

On Wednesday, Qantas and Jetstar also confirmed they were increasing airfares due to a doubling in the cost of aviation fuel.

Jetstar said fare increases will vary however flight schedules have not been affected by any fuel-related issues.

Last month, Air NZ announced a half-year loss of $40 million in the six months ended December, compared to last year’s profit of $106m.

The critical Hormuz Strait, a shipping route for up to 20 percent of the world’s oil, is essentially closed due to the conflict in the region.

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/13/nelson-region-to-take-a-tourism-hit-as-air-new-zealand-cancel-flights-over-fuel-prices-mayor-says/