Category: Public Media

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Watch: Winston Peters delivers State of the Nation speech

Source: Radio New Zealand

Winston Peters will make his State of the Nation address in Tauranga on Sunday.

It comes off the back of heavy questioning by the New Zealand First leader about the previous government’s decisions during the Covid-19 pandemic, following the release of the second phase of the royal commission of inquiry.

NZ First is trending upward in the polls. In the latest RNZ Reid Research poll it sat at 9.8 percent, enough for 12 seats in Parliament – four more than it currently holds.

Peters was third in the preferred prime minister ranking at 12.6 percent. Labour’s Chris Hipkins was at 21.1 percent, with Christopher Luxon on 19.4 percent.

Last year, Peters faced disruptions from hecklers during his State of the Nation speech to a packed crowd on a range of topics, including the “war on woke”, diversity targets, water fluoridation and the Paris Climate Agreement.

This year, it was expected Peters would address the cost of living and the state of the economy, as well as make an election policy announcement.

Peters’ speech is scheduled to begin at 2pm – watch it live here.

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Watch: Nicola Willis visits fuel import terminal at Marsden Point

Source: Radio New Zealand

Finance Minister Nicola Willis on Sunday afternoon will be visiting Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point Energy Precinct.

The visit comes amid fears of an energy crisis, with the global price of oil skyrocketing in the wake of the US and Israel’s attack on Iran.

Iran’s response has included threatening ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a key channel for the transportation of fuel exports from the Middle East, and strikes on US-friendly neighbours’ energy infrastructure.

Marsden Point is New Zealand’s fuel import terminal, and until 2022 also had an oil refining facility. New Zealand now relies on imported refined fuels, without a facility to refine raw products.

Senior coalition politicians are at odds over whether the facility should have been closed.

Marsden Point. RNZ / Peter de Graaf

Willis told Morning Report on Friday price increases were extremely tough and affecting all New Zealanders, but some were feeling it more than others.

“I can’t solve the pain for everyone. The cost of doing that would potentially involve levels of spending that would drive inflation higher, and certainly would put us in a more fragile position in terms of debt.

“So what we are looking at, is there something very targeted and temporary that we could do to assist those workers in particular who are most acutely impacted by these household budget squeezes?”

IRD and Treasury have been asked to come up with a package that could be implemented with urgency ahead of the Budget.

Willis will talk to the media at 2pm – watch it live here.

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Multiple crashes block lanes, two dead, others hurt

Source: Radio New Zealand

In Auckland, northbound lanes were blocked on the South-Western Motorway, SH20, at Onehunga, on Sunday morning. Supplied/ NZTA traffic camera

Two people have died and others injured in crashes in Waikato, Auckland and Southland.

Waikato police said on Sunday morning a person died following a single-vehicle crash on Howden Road, to the west of Hamilton city in Temple View. The crash happened about 8:30pm on Saturday.

Meanwhile, blocked lanes on Auckland’s Southwestern Motorway at Onehunga were reopened by 9:30am Sunday, after a collision earlier in the morning that had prompted police to direct northbound drivers to take another route.

Two vehicles were involved in the crash on the State Highway 20 motorway, police said.

One person was killed and two others moderately injured.

Crashes in Southland also reported

In Southland, Winding Creek Road was blocked following a single-vehicle crash between midnight Saturday and 1am Sunday.

Police said injuries were reported, and the Serious Crash Unit was advised.

“Motorists should avoid the road as emergency services work the scene or delay travel. The road is expected to be blocked for most of the day,” they said on Sunday

And Invercargill’s Leet Street was closed following a single-vehicle crash about 3am on Sunday.

“The Serious Crash Unit has been advised, and the road is expected to remain closed for most of the day while emergency services work at the scene,” police said.

“Diversions are in place, and motorists should account for extra travel time.”

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Mahurangi oyster farmers call for more transparency on Watercare’s compensation calculations

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mahurangi Oysters owner Jim Aitken. Nick Monro

A group of North Auckland oyster farmers are calling for more transparency on how Watercare came to its final calculation on compensation over a sewage spill into the Mahurangi River last year, that contaminated tens of thousands of oysters during the businesses’ peak season.

Wastewater poured into the Mahurangi River for over 17 hours, after a power surge tripped up the pumps at Watercare’s Warkworth Street wastewater plant in late October.

Reviews found that a faulty surge protection component at the plant meant the pumps could not restart, and a critical overflow alarm that was not working had delayed the discovery of the overflow.

Watercare estimated that half of the 1200 cubic metres of overflow went into the Mahurangi River, while the remaining was contained to the plant.

It announced on Thursday its last tranche of compensation payment – $750,000 – for Mahurangi oyster famers and the wider aquaculture industry, which came on top of the $2 million already paid to eight affected oyster farms.

It said part of the $750,000 was for a ninth oyster farmer who made a subsequent claim, and part of it would go towards Aquaculture New Zealand (AQNZ) for it to distribute to all impacted oyster farmers.

AQNZ, representing the affected farmers, said the “full and final settlement” did not cover lost income, cancelled sales, reputational harm and ongoing disruption to production.

An AQNZ spokesperson said the organisation was offered half a million in the final round of compensation, but had not accepted the money yet, as it felt Watercare had not made it clear how that money should be used.

Its CEO Teena Hale-Pennington said in a statement that farmers needed to see how Watercare assessed the losses and reached those final figures.

“At this stage, neither AQNZ nor individual farmers have received the independent assessment findings for their farms, nor information outlining the assumptions used in Watercare’s assessment.

“Without access to this material, farmers are unable to fully understand how assessments were undertaken or how conclusions were reached,” she said.

Meanwhile, Watercare maintained that its processes were robust.

“We commissioned an independent loss assessment to understand the financial impact of the October event on oyster farmers, resulting in the farms being shut down by MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries) during a critical part of their harvesting season.

“This process has informed Watercare’s approach to resolving the claims,” said its chief operating officer Mark Bourne, who added that the total compensation covered the losses attributed to the event.

Watercare chief operating officer Mark Bourne. Jessie Chiang

Hale-Pennington said it was frustrating that Watercare’s decision had been described as final, without the agreement of those most affected.

Tim Aitken, whose family business – Mahurangi Oysters – lost a large portion of its 80,000 dozen of oysters following the event, said they had been treated “like muppets” by Watercare.

“They haven’t entered into the conversation in a transparent way, they’ve treated us quite badly, I believe,” he said.

Aitken said he and other oyster farmers have handed Watercare five years’ worth of income and expenditure, in the hope of entering into a transparent negotiation.

Aitken said none of Watercare’s assessors had chatted with him in person about how they came to those compensation figures.

He said the $200,000 he received in compensation was just enough to cover staff wages.

Aitken said the reputational damage and ongoing impacts such as the loss of clients, were not being factored into the compensation.

“We sell weekly to chefs, and we sell fresh oysters, so everytime we get closed we lose a chef, we lose a restaurant because we can’t guarantee supply.

“Our business right now is hanging on, but only just,” he said.

Aitken said these days, they were struggling to sell oysters due to the lost trust by their clients.

“People now talk to us and say ‘we don’t wanna buy your oysters, they’re the ones that are in the shit harbour’.”

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Fuel price increases held off for Chatham Islands, for now

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fuel price increases will be felt soon: Diesel is the main source of electricity for the remote Chatham Islands. Vk2cz / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)

Chatham Islands diesel will remain at pre-war prices until mid-April, but pump-prices will soon rise, residents are being warned.

In most parts of New Zealand, diesel has risen to more than $3 per litre since the war on Iran started three weeks ago. But in the Chathams, where diesel is the main source of electricity, it’s still $2.29 a litre.

The Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust owns the archipelago’s infrastructure companies, including providing fuel. Group chief executive Bob Penter says the price of diesel will rise by 15 cents in April. It will then be reviewed again, and another hike is likely in May.

Petrol prices remain the same for now, at $4.50 a litre.

  • Isolated communities grappling with rising fuel costs

    • “We’re really trying to soften the sudden price shocks that perhaps we’re seeing elsewhere in New Zealand, and that’s something that we’re able to do as the enterprise trust because we’re essentially operating as a charitable trust,” Penter said.

    “So we’re trying to really modify the impact as much as we can.”

    Before the Iran conflict began, the Chatham Islands was the most expensive place to buy petrol. There is capacity to store up to 400,000 litres of fuel on Chatham Island.

    “What we’ve seen for our purchase price of diesel that we buy and bring over on the Southern Tiare, the ship that supports the Chathams, is that its risen by $1.15, since the Middle East events have taken place,” Penter said.

    “So we’re able to absorb this at the moment, but it’s going to start slowly feeding through to the pump price.”

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Toxic algae warnings issued for Hutt and Wairarapa rivers

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Madleine CarrWhite, Massey Journalism Student

File photo. Supplied / Greater Wellington Regional Council

Toxic algae warnings have been issued for Hutt and Wairarapa rivers.

Red alerts are in place for Hutt River at Silverstream, Waipoua River at Colombo Road, and Ruamahanga River at Double Bridges and Te Ore Ore.

Greater Wellington Regional Council advised people not to swim or let their dogs near the water.

The algae is a neurotoxin that acts like snake venom and is extremely harmful to humans and lethal for dogs if ingested.

“Toxic algae lives on the riverbed, where it’s usually out of reach,” Greater Wellington senior advisor integration and insights, Penny Fairbrother said.

“But during a flare-up like this, thanks to warm weather and a lack of rain, the algae lifts off the rocks and accumulates at the river’s edge, where it poses the biggest risk – especially to dogs who seem to love the smell and will try to eat it if given the chance.

“Even a small amount of toxic algae, the size of a 50-cent piece, can be enough to kill a dog.”

People should check the LAWA website for toxic algae warnings and alerts before visiting rivers in the Wellington region.

People who were feeling unwell after being in contact with algae were asked to see a doctor or contact Healthline on 0800 611 116.

Anyone who suspected their dog had swallowed toxic algae should visit the nearest vet immediately.

Greater Wellington was monitoring popular swimming spots weekly. It asked people to check the LAWA website for warnings and alerts before visiting rivers in the Wellington region.

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Tiny extinct bat found in NZ fossil record

Source: Radio New Zealand

An artist’s impression of a short-tailed New Zealand bat, similar to the new Mystacina nymphe species newly discovered in Otago. Gavin Mouldey / supplied

A palaeontologist studying fossil fragments in Central Otago has identified a previously unknown, but now extinct, bat.

University of New South Wales professor Suzanne Hand has been studying fossil fragments found in Central Otago that are 16 to 19 million years old.

She says the bat has been named Mystacina nymphe, ‘nymphe’ after the Greek word for a forest spirit.

The new nymphe species are related to the modern short-tailed bat, but much smaller, weighing between eight and 10 grams.

New Zealand currently has two living species of pekapeka or bat, including one short-tailed bat (another short-tailed species was last seen in 1967, the Department of Conservation (DOC) says, and thought to be extinct). But working at the St Bathans site in Otago, Hand has found Aotearoa once had at least five different species of short-tailed bat.

“So this was a time when it was much warmer in New Zealand than it is now, probably like a sub-tropical to warm temperate kind of climate … The forests were probably even more diverse … and what we’re finding is that a lot of different animals lived at the time, and one of them was this tiny little bat that we found.”

An interesting collection of reptiles also once lived in New Zealand too, she said.

“Alongside this amazing diversity of bats were also things like crocodiles, and turtles, and swiftlets, and all sorts of animals that are not found in New Zealand today once lived there.

“And it looks like that as the climate changed and things got cooler, and the forest changed and so on, a lot of those animals disappeared.”

The area near where the new short-tailed bat fossil was found, at St Bathans, Otago. Alan Tennyson/Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Short-tailed bats are now found only in New Zealand, but they were once found in Australia too, before becoming extinct there. They filled an important role as pollinators for some plants.

“They’re also known as walking bats or burrowing bats, because they spend quite a lot of time on the ground foraging, not like normal bats … and they’re very distantly related to vampire bats in South America,” Hand says.

“The New Zealand bats are really, really special. Very precious, and very very important in terms of their ecological roles today. And in the past there was a greater diversity of them, so they ranged from these very small ones, eight to 10 grams – so that’s a little bat – up to about 40 grams, which is actually a very large bat.”

Hand says the extinction of her newly found nymphe species was linked to historical cooling of the climate.

Bats were very sensitive to environmental changes, Hand said, and could be an early indicator of environmental stress. New Zealand’s remaining species were under significant pressure.

“Bats are changing, they’re changing their habits, they’re changing their distributions, and so on. At the moment it hasn’t been great, because bats are not evolving fast enough to keep up with … these really fast changes human-induced climate change is bringing.”

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Multiple crashes block lanes, one dead, several hurt

Source: Radio New Zealand

Traffic was blocked in northbound lanes on the South-Western Motorway, SH20, at Onehunga, on Sunday morning. Supplied/ NZTA traffic camera

One person has died following a crash in Waikato.

The single-vehicle crash was on Howden Road in Temple View around 8.30pm on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a crash has blocked lanes on Auckland’s Southwestern Motorway at Onehunga, and northbound drivers are being warned to take another route.

Two vehicles were involved in the crash on State Highway 20, police said. One person had serious injuries and two were moderately injured.

“Motorists are advised to avoid the northbound motorway at this time, or delay travel,” they said.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said the Queenstown Road offramp was closed as a result of the crash. Motorists should instead use the Hillsborough offramp.

“Allow extra time for diversions. Please follow the directions of emergency services,” NZTA said.

In Southland, Winding Creek Road in Southland was blocked following a single-vehicle crash between midnight and 1am.

Police said injuries were reported, and the Serious Crash Unit was advised.

“Motorists should avoid the road as emergency services work the scene or delay travel. The road is expected to be blocked for most of the day.”

And Invercargill’s Leet Street was closed following a single-vehicle crash around 3am.

“The Serious Crash Unit has been advised, and the road is expected to remain closed for most of the day while emergency services work at the scene,” police said.

“Diversions are in place, and motorists should account for extra travel time.”

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Government data being held by ‘unvetted third parties’ – Treasury report

Source: Radio New Zealand

Government Communications Security Bureau director-general Andrew Clark. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) spy agency has taken six times longer than it should have to address questions about lax cyber security identified in a Treasury report.

The report last year mentioned that government data was “being managed or held by unvetted third parties”.

It gave no details, so RNZ sought them.

Director-general Andrew Clark apologised for taking 120 working days to respond, instead of the statutory 20 under the Official Information Act (OIA).

He then refused to answer virtually all of the dozen questions.

Clark said they had to keep incidents and vulnerabilities confidential or people would not share with them, and they needed that information to counter threats.

The Treasury report said government agencies had continued to raise concerns about the security of third-party vendors’ products and services, including poor security controls and unpatched software.

“Some agencies reported that vendors had offshored some services without their prior approval, meaning government data was being managed or held by unvetted third parties,” said the quarterly investment report for the three months to December 2024. Such reports are released publicly many months after they are done.

New Zealand’s small size as a market was biting it, the report suggested.

“Agencies assess that poor service delivery is likely driven by lower competition and less resourcing for comparably smaller contracts in New Zealand versus larger markets,” it said, under the title ‘Other emerging … issues’.

“Low competition, coupled with poor service delivery from some vendors, has also led to high reliance by many Government agencies on the same few vendors, which creates risk to service delivery across the public sector should those vendors suffer a cyber security incident or event.”

Many government agencies had become increasingly reliant on cloud-computing services from US Big Tech companies.

RNZ asked the GCSB, National Cyber Security Centre and Internal Affairs who the problem vendors were. Clark in his response would not name them or say anything about them.

“Providing this information would likely have commercial implications for these vendors” so that was refused on the grounds of unreasonably prejudicing someone’s position.

What about the government agencies that had raised the alarm?

“I am refusing those parts of your request where you have asked for information that has been provided to the GCSB in confidence by agencies,” was the reply, otherwise it might prejudice the supply of such info in future.

The unvetted third parties were not disclosed, and neither were the risks to service delivery that Treasury had told ministers were in play.

The risks information was refused on the grounds the GCSB “does not hold this information in the manner or format you have requested”.

Work was underway on digital investment and procurement, Clark said.

Asked what measures were taken, he said the National Cyber Security Centre provided a range of advice, and they had recently developed “minimum cyber security standards” to focus on the basics and encourage good practices.

The subsequent three quarterly reports after this one did not mention the threat again.

But other weaknesses did come up in them, and in one case Treasury was called out for them, in the latest quarterly report, to September 2025.

It said many data and digital projects did not include information relating to cyber security management or improvement.

It went on to fault the Treasury’s investment management system because it did not recognise the ongoing cost of cyber security, “making it difficult” to upgrade old systems and move away from on-site hardware to ‘as-a-service’ tech “which we know deliver better security results”.

“The current financing rules and settings around capital and operating expenditure are preventing agencies from modernising and improving their cyber security.”

Agencies’ approach to procuring IT systems or services was called “outdated and fragmented” by the government chief digital officer in the September quarterly report, six years after Treasury told the public sector to take an all-of-government approach to try to cut the IT upgrade bill of multi-billions of dollars.

The long wait for the response to the OIA request was put down by the GCSB to consultation and the “volume of information requested” by RNZ.

Most of Clark’s three-page response was taken up outlining the grounds for refusing the information.

RNZ asked for any report that focused on the threat, but did not get one.

Clark apologised for the wait.

“Our response … did not meet the statutory deadline and I do apologise for that. Thank you for your patience while we completed our response.”

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Crash blocks lanes on Auckland’s Southwestern Motorway

Source: Radio New Zealand

Traffic was blocked in northbound lanes on the South-Western Motorway, SH20, at Onehunga, on Sunday morning. Supplied/ NZTA traffic camera

A crash has blocked lanes on Auckland’s Southwestern Motorway at Onehunga, and northbound drivers are being warned to take another route.

Two vehicles were involved in the crash on State Highway 20, police said.

One person had serious injuries and two were moderately injured.

“Motorists are advised to avoid the northbound motorway at this time, or delay travel,” they said.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said the Queenstown Road offramp was closed as a result of the crash. Motorists should instead use the Hillsborough offramp.

“Allow extra time for diversions. Please follow the directions of emergency services,” NZTA said.

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NRL: What we learnt from NZ Warriors’ win over Newcastle Knights

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mitch Barnett returned to the Warrior side against Newcastle Knights. David Neilson/Photosport

Analysis – Skipper Mitch Barnett’s comeback from season-ending knee injury has helped inspire his NZ Warriors to their best NRL start in eight years and second-best in history.

After losing three of last week’s starters, coach Andrew Webster was able to pull a few rabbits out of his hat to cover their absences – including two debuts and the return of an old favourite.

In his final season with the Warriors, Barnett, 31, was held out of the opening two games of the 2026 campaign as a precaution, but his arrival onto his old stomping ground of McDonald Jones Stadium helped boost his side when they needed it most.

“Awesome,” Webster confirmed. “He laid on that try for Jacko and it was nice to hear the Knights fans give him a cheer too.

“It was good to have him back. The last three weeks, he’s made life pretty hard for everyone at training, running hard and tackling like crazy.

“He’ll play more minutes in coming weeks and had to move him to edge-back row, where he did a great job.”

Barnett’s addition to the rotation will cause Webster some headaches over coming weeks, as he tries to balance his team’s winning momentum with the inclusion of their spiritual leader.

Here’s what we learnt from the 38-12 win over the Knights.

Best player

Hard to go past Dally M Medal leader Jackson Ford, who must surely take maximum points again from his 100th NRL appearance.

For the second time this season, he led the Warriors in both running metres (236) and tackles (44) – he led them in tackles for the third time – while also scoring his second try of the season.

Ford already paced the competition in post-contact metres, but chalked up 96 more in this performance, while slotting the first goal of his career, with the conversion of Luke Hanson’s last-gasp try.

“I didn’t get to see it, but I hear it was pretty cool,” Webster said. “He’s getting a lot of praise at the moment and he deserves it, but we’ve been celebrating him internally for a long time now.

“I’m glad everyone’s finally seeing it.”

Webster has a selection dilemma on his hand, now that Barnett is back to reclaim his No.10 jersey.

Despite Barnett’s return, Ford never left the field, after logging 70 minutes-plus in the two previous games.

Jackson Ford celebrates his 100th NRL game with ‘Mahi Mark’. David Neilson/Photosport

With a motor that big, maybe you keep Barnett on the interchange, tag-teaming with fellow skipper James Fisher-Harris and keeping the veterans fresh for a late-season charge.

Webster has a similar predicament at halfback, where Tanah Boyd produced another sterling performance, scoring his third try in as many games, laying on two try assists, breaking the line twice and assisting on another linebreak.

Only Ford’s form has robbed Boyd of more Dally M love, as he led his team with 87 Fantasy NRL points, and his dominance will make it hard for Webster to drop him, when Luke Metcalf becomes available next month.

Fisher-Harris continued his fine early-season touch, while lock Erin Clark is back to where he left off last season, when he was Dally M Lock of the Year.

Key moment

With halftime looming, the Warrior only led 12-6, but were on the right side of a heavy penalty count.

Referee Liam Kennedy had warned the Knights for their repeated infringement at the previous kickoff and finally snapped, when fullback Fletcher Hunt strayed offside near his own goal-line.

With Hunt in the bin, the Warriors needed to capitalise on their numerical advantage and did that, when debutant Luke Hanson put makeshift centre Leka Halasima across for a try and an 18-6 advantage at the break.

Last time Halasima appeared at this venue, he broke Knights’ hearts with his last-minute gamewinner – this one almost as important.

Halasima has now scored four tries in three games and doesn’t seem to care where he does it from – off the interchange, from the second row or the midfield.

The Warriors piled on 30 consecutive points, before the Knights could catch their breath, effectively ending the contest with 20 minutes still remaining.

That’s become a bit of trend this season.

Two weeks ago, they were 6-6 with Sydney Roosters, before unleashing 22 points either side of halfway to build an unassailable lead.

Last week, they conceded the first try to Canberra Raiders, before a 40-point avalanche that buried their opponents.

Best try

Again, so many to choose from.

Was it Barnett’s assist to Ford in the latter’s 100th game or Clark’s first for the Warriors in his 29th outing?

Let’s give it to the final flourish, where wing Dallin Watene-Zelezniak gathered a desperate Knights kick after the final siren and offloaded to fullback Taine Tuaupiki, who was a threat every time he touched the ball all night.

Tuaupiki burnt the Knights defence and had the tryline open, but heard the call from Hanson in support and threw a pass that had his mate sidestepping the goalpost to score.

Luke Hanson and Taine Tuaupiki celebrate their last-gasp try against Newcastle. David Neilson/Photosport

Hanson was able to celebrate his arrival in top grade appropriately, with Ford’s conversion the cherry on top.

Should first-grade be this much fun?

Injuries

While Hanson enjoyed a dream debut, the same couldn’t be said for Englishman Morgan Gannon, who lasted less than five minutes, before knocking himself out in a tackle and leaving with concussion.

He will sit out next week, but the Warriors seemed to escape any further casualties.

Hooker Wayde Egan left for a head check midway through the second half, but he was probably due for replacement anyway and returned for the final 10 minutes to close out the game.

There will be a few sore bodies on Sunday and maybe a little concern over Boyd, who was collected in a heavy tackle, as he kicked across the field late. Knights front-rower Trey Mooney was sent to the bin and Boyd walked off what will hopefully prove nothing more than a cork to his leg.

Tuaupiki and Fisher-Harris also stayed down after tackles, and Ford copped an elbow from Dane Gagai to the head, but all remained on the field afterwards.

Barnett seemed to come through 36 minutes without incident, entering the action after 25 minutes and leaving 20 minutes into the second half.

Presumably, fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita will be off concussion protocols and available next week, but second-rower Kurt Capewell’s calf will likely keep him sidelined for a few more weeks yet.

Centre Adam Pompey had his attendance record blemished, when he stayed in Auckland on babywatch. He’ll surely be back next week.

Newcastle Knights

Apparently, Knights coach Justin Holbrook was not impressed with the first-half refereeing and the final penalty count was 11-4 against, with two players sin-binned and three on report.

“I’m not a referee and, if that’s the way he sees it, it’s up to us to fix it,” he offered diplomatically afterwards.

“We haven’t had an issue with it until today, we got it wrong and paid the price for it.”

That’s also become a bit of a trend for the Warriors this season.

Two weeks ago, Roosters coach Trent Robinson seethed over the 11-4 count against his team and the NRL refs almost seem to be making up for all those years that the Warriors have suffered from suspect officiating.

Morgan Gannon’s NRL debut ends early with concussion. David Neilson/Photosport

Newcastle were also unbeaten over their opening two games, emulating last season’s start, when they lost their final nine games and ultimately took the wooden spoon.

“It wasn’t good obviously,” reflected Holbrook. “We played two really good games to start the year, but we were poor with the ball today and made some really basic errors.

“Our skill was poor and obviously our discipline, and you make the game really hard against an opposition that did the opposite of that. We had a tough afternoon.”

They have problems without injured stars Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Brown, and may lose more to judiciary next week.

Newcastle face another daunting challenge next Saturday, when they travel to unbeaten Canterbury Bulldogs.

What this result means

Don’t look now, but the Warriors are top of the table, baby!

OK, still only week three, but they have a points differential advantage over Penrith Panthers, while Melbourne Storm’s loss to Brisbane Broncos sees them slide a step behind.

The only team that could have topped them this weekend were – incredibly – Wests Tigers, who needed a 56-point win over South Sydney Rabbitohs. They couldn’t manage that.

This is just the second time in club history the Warriors have reeled off three wins to start their season – they managed five straight to start the 2018 campaign.

One hundred-and-twenty points across three games make them the most potent attack in the competition. That’s also the most they’ve ever scored in their opening three games.

What’s next

Next Friday, the Warriors will host the Tigers, whom they have beaten in their last nine encounters.

After several years of mediocrity, Kiwi legend Benji Marshall has dragged Wests off the bottom of the competition, finishing 13th last season.

They started this season with a bye and a promising 44-16 win over North Queensland Cowboys that convinced many they may be playoff contenders.

On Saturday night, South Sydney Rabbitohs dented that perception, with a thrilling 20-16 win over the Tigers, who also lost halves Jarome Luai and Adam Doueihi to injury.

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

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New Zealand First leader Winston Peters to make State of the Nation speech

Source: Radio New Zealand

Winston Peters. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Winston Peters will be making his State of the Nation address in Tauranga on Sunday, purposely timed after the release of the quarterly GDP figures.

It also comes off the back of heavy questioning by the New Zealand First leader about the previous Labour government’s decisions during the Covid-19 pandemic, following the release of the second phase of the royal commission of inquiry.

Peters has been accusing Labour ministers of not passing on critical vaccine information to the public, which Labour strongly denies.

Currently, NZ First is trending upward in the polls. In the latest RNZ Reid Research poll, the party sat at 9.8 percent in the party vote, which would result in 12 seats in parliament – four more than what it currently holds.

Peters was third in the preferred prime minister ranking, at 12.6 percent. Labour’s Chris Hipkins was at 21.1 percent, with Christopher Luxon on 19.4 percent.

Last year, Peters faced disruptions from hecklers during his State of the Nation speech to a packed crowd on a range of topics, including the “war on woke”, diversity targets, water fluoridation and the Paris Climate Agreement.

This year, it was expected Peters would address the cost of living and the state of the economy, as well as make an election policy announcement.

Recently at Parliament, he said he would not make his State of the Nation speech until after the GDP figures were released. He noted other party leaders were premature making their speeches before this information was available.

On Thursday, Stats NZ data showed gross domestic product (GDP), the broad measure of economic growth, rose an anaemic 0.2 percent in the three months ended December, to be 1.3 percent higher than a year ago. On an annual average basis, the economy grew 0.2 percent over the year.

Expectations were for quarterly growth in a range of 0.2 to 0.5 percent, although the growth of the previous quarter was revised lower to 0.9 percent from 1.1 percent.

Late last year, Peters signalled he was willing to criticise his coalition partners after he savaged National’s suggestion of asset sales as a “tawdry silly argument”, which he said it was falling back on after having failed to fix the economy fast enough.

“Because they’ve failed to run the economy properly, they want to go to the assets of a time when the country was run properly, when we were number two in the world and built up by our forefathers and to start to flog those off … to so-called balance their books,” Peters said.

The recent attack on Iran by the United States and Israel had the government monitoring developments, along with how fuel and supply chains could be disrupted in New Zealand.

And last week the finance minister indicated the worst-case scenario Treasury had outlined was a rise in inflation to 3.7 percent.

Peters will likely address the global instability, and how that will impact New Zealanders.

He will also likely take a swipe at the opposition. In 2024, Peters used roughly half of his State of the Nation speech to criticise the previous Labour government, along with the media and the Green Party, before outlining New Zealand First’s plans for the country.

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Kim Gordon is as fearless as ever on new album Play Me

Source: Radio New Zealand

With each passing year, Kim Gordon grows more impressive. A fearless talent devoted to the avant garde who refuses to soften her artistic impulses, she’s not just releasing music into her 70s, but music that’s as challenging as her old band Sonic Youth were during their heyday.

There’s no denying Play Me is slight when compared to her 2025 release The Collective (it very much comes off as a collection of b-sides to that album), but it finds its own identity regardless, Gordon again adds vocals to trap and industrial beats, but branching out into motorik tempos and instrumental hooks that border on pop.

She worked with Justin Raisen, who helmed The Collective and has produced music for Charli XCX, Drake, and Lil Yachty, with results lighter and sillier than anything Gordon has done previously, and run through with sardonic wit. Aiming once again at topical targets, but with an even broader approach (which is saying something considering The Collective had a feminist song called ‘I’m a Man’), she holds a mirror up to things like tech bros and government censorship by approaching them at their level.

This video is hosted on Youtube.

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/22/kim-gordon-is-as-fearless-as-ever-on-new-album-play-me/

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‘We’ve got the cattle’: Penney warns Crusaders just getting started

Source: Radio New Zealand

Crusaders winger Chay Fihaki goes over for his second try. Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz

Revenge served.

The Crusaders dished up a vengeful performance against Moana in Albany, to all but banish memories of their loss to the side at home in 2025.

“They stung us deeply last year,” said coach Rob Penney.

“I wouldn’t say revenge, but it was certainly something that we were well aware of, there was a lot more physical presence about us this year compared with last year.”

The defeat was buried in ruthless fashion, the Crusaders putting fifty on the proud franchise in their first appearance on the North Shore for the year.

After a lacklustre effort from a Will Jordan-less Crusaders against the Blues, Penney threw the challenge down to his backs to take the pressure off their superstar fullback.

Step up Sevu Reece, Chay Fihaki, Braydon Ennor and Leicester Faingaʻanuku.

The quartet were lethal with ball in hand alongside Jordan, combining for five scorching tries and some scintillating running rugby.

“You start rattling those names off, and how blessed are we with the talent that we’ve got? We’ve just got to keep supplying the opportunities. The ability for us to have multiple threats across the park is such a key for us, we’ve got the cattle.”

Penney worried too much reliance was being put on their superstar fullback, who was also handed captaincy duties for the clash with David Havili sidelined.

“Will stepped in and took over that leadership role superbly. So really, we didn’t miss a beat.”

After a rough start to their campaign, both Jordan and Penney felt things were clicking for the defending champs.

“It’s nice to get back-to-back victories, we’re a dangerous side and I think there’s still growth for us.” Jordan said.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Cantabs, up by just three at half-time, before the floodgates burst open.

“The job was not fully done, we felt that was close towards the back end of the first half, and the boys just went to work in the second half, it was awesome,” said Penney.

Penney said his side was still far from the finished product.

“We still have a wee way to go. I think we’ve got a lot in us, and so I hope we have the ability to unleash further.”

A scary prospect for opposition sides.

“I hope so,” said Penney.

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/21/weve-got-the-cattle-penney-warns-crusaders-just-getting-started/

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Wellington Phoenix score crucial win over Brisbane Roar

Source: Radio New Zealand

Ifeanyi Eze scored the crucial goal for the Phoenix. File photo. AAP / Photosport

A superb goal by Ifeanyi Eze has given the Wellington Phoenix a vital 2-1 win over the Brisbane Roar in Brisbane.

It continues the resurgence of the Phoenix under interim coach Chris Greenacre and crucially keeps them in the hunt for an A-League men’s playoffs spot.

They are now just one point off the top six, as they sit in eighth place.

A loss would have left them with a big mountain to climb with four regular-season matches remaining.

They have had two wins in a row and are unbeaten in their last three under Greenacre, who oversaw a loss to Sydney FC just after he took over from men’s Giancarlo Italiano, who had resigned immediately after the 5-0 drubbing delivered by Auckland FC on 21 February.

The match with Brisbane could have gone either way before Eze’s clincher in the 86th minute.

Former Phoenix player James McGarry put the Roar 1-0 ahead after 14 minutes, with Corban Piper locking the scores up with a tap-in from Isaac Hughes header in the 36th minute.

It remained that way until the late counter-attack saw Luke Brooke-Smith slide a superb pass to Eze, who struck it with great timing to leave Roar goalie Dean Bouzanis no chance of stopping it.

There was an ugly head clash late in the game with a bloodied Hughes having to leave the field, and the Phoenix were able to repel the late attacks by the Roar, whose appeals for two late penalties were rebuffed.

Eze said the win meant everything to the Phoenix.

“This means everything to us, because our main target is getting into the top six,” he told Sky Sport.

“I’m very happy we won, I’m very happy we got the three points.”

It was the Phoenix’s third win over the Roar this season.

The Wellington side will cross the Tasman to play Melbourne Victory next on 5 April, while the Roar will host Sydney FC three days earlier.

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Live: Blues v Waratahs – Super Rugby Pacific

Source: Radio New Zealand

Follow all the Super Rugby action as the Blues take on the Waratahs at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.

Kick-off is 9.35pm.

Blues team list:

Ofa Tu’ungafasi 2. Bradley Slater 3. Sam Matenga 4. Josh Beehre 5. Sam Darry 6. Anton Segner 7. Dalton Papali’i (c) 8. Malachi Wrampling 9. Finlay Christie 10. Beauden Barrett 11. Caleb Clarke 12. Pita Ahki 13. AJ Lam 14. Codemeru Vai 15. Zarn Sullivan

Bench: 16. James Mullan 17. Mason Tupaea 18. Marcel Renata 19. Che Clark 20. Torian Barnes 21. Taufa Funaki 22. Xavi Taele 23. Payton Spencer (debut).

“The Waratahs are always a dangerous side particularly at home in Sydney, so we’ll need to be accurate and disciplined for 80 minutes.” – Blues coach Vern Cotter.

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Two left with serious injuries after disorder in Feilding

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are working to locate all parties involved. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Police say two people have been seriously injured following reports of disorder in Feilding.

A spokesperson said police were called to Stafford Street shortly after 7pm on Saturday night.

The spokesperson said one person was found at the scene and another was located nearby in a vehicle, both with serious injuries.

Police are working to locate all parties involved, and cordons are in place.

Motorists have been advised to avoid the area if possible.

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Kiwi tourist drowns while snorkelling in Rarotonga

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ Pacific/ Lydia Lewis

A New Zealand woman has drowned while on holiday in Rarotonga.

In a social media post on Saturday, the Cook Islands Police said the 66-year-old tourist was pulled unresponsive from the lagoon at Vaimaanga late Wednesday afternoon.

They said she had been snorkelling with friends.

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said they are aware of reports of the death but cannot comment due to privacy reasons.

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Auckland FC crash to defeat against Macarthur FC

Source: Radio New Zealand

Rafael Durán scores for Macarthur FC against Auckland FC at Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, 21 March, 2026. Photosport.nz

Auckland FC have suffered a shock 2-1 loss to the Macarthur Bulls on, a dampener on their chances of winning a second straight Premier’s Cup.

It was a result that the fans didn’t see coming. Auckland FC went into Saturday’s match in a rich vein of form with their brilliant 2-1 away win over competition leader the Newcastle Jets last week, which left them unbeaten in six matches, while sixth-placed Macarthur had lost their last four matches.

But they looked the in-form side when Rafael Durán put them in front in the 11th minute and even more so when Tomi Uskok soared to head home a pinpoint cross from Chris Ikonomidis just before halftime.

Auckland coach Steve Corica rang the changes to his lethargic-looking side at halftime, replacing Guillermo May, Callan Elliot and Felipe Gallegos with Lachlan Brook, Luka Vicelich and Louis Verstraete.

The attack was better, they created more chances, but the determined Macarthur defence held them out, until the third minute of added time when Jake Girdwood-Reich headed one in.

The now-urgent Auckanders quickly sought another goal in the last two minutes of added time to give them a draw, but Macarthur held them out.

Auckland FC trailed the Jets on the ladder by one point heading into this game, but the Jets get the chance to go four ahead when they play Sydney FC on Sunday.

Auckland coach Steve Corica was clearly unhappy with the effort.

“Last week that was probably our best performance against Newcastle, that was probably our worst,” he told Sky Sport.

“We let the fans down, we let everyone down today,” he said.

“We have given ourselves another tough hurdle to climb to the premiership.”

Auckland’s next game is against Adelaide United on Good Friday, 3 April, with three matches of the regular season left after that.

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NRL: Warriors overrun Knights on Barnett’s return

Source: Radio New Zealand

Leka Halasima scores a try against Newcastle Knights. David Neilson/Photosport

For only the second time in club history, NZ Warriors have surged to a three-game winning streak to start their NRL season, overwhelming previously unbeaten Newcastle Knights 38-12 at McDonald Jones Stadium.

The only previous occasion they have managed this feat was 2018, when the Auckland club rattled off five straight victories.

Co-captain Mitch Barnett returned to action for the first time, since his season-ending knee injury last June and showed no rust, as he laid on a try for fellow front-rower Jackson Ford, who was celebrating his 100th first-grade game.

Barnett’s appearance from the interchange was his 50th for the club.

“It was nice to come off the bench for a change, when there was a bit of sting out of the game,” he said. “Great to be back.”

Newcastle grabbed an early lead, when fullback Fletcher Hunt crossed for a try in the third minute, but the Warriors piled on 30 consecutive points to take control of the contest.

The Knights finally answered through wing Greg Marzhew, but the visitors finished with a flourish, as wing Dallin Watene-Zelezniak fielded a desperation kick after the final siren and sent fullback Taine Tuaupiki into the clear.

As he crossed the tryline, Tuaupiki flung a pass inside for debutant Luke Hanson to score, as Ford celebrated his milestone with the first goal of his career.

The result puts the Warriors on top of the table on points differential over Penrith Panthers and they host Wests Tigers at Go Media Stadium next Friday.

Follow the live action there:

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