Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

Two separate assaults in the Auckland CBD over the weekend are being investigated by police.

Police received a report of a person being assaulted in Quay Street by a group of men unknown to them at about 11.40pm on Saturday.

The victim’s phone and bag were also stolen, and they were taken to hospital with moderate injuries.

Police said they were making inquiries to identify those responsible.

Just after midnight on Sunday, another person was injured under the Nelson Street off-ramp overbridge and was taken to hospital with an apparent stab wound.

Police said they were determining the exact circumstances of the incident and who was involved.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/16/two-assaults-in-central-auckland-over-the-weekend/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The deaths of four young people in separate motocross accidents over a two-year span will be the focus of a joint Coronial inquest, placing the safety of the sport under scrutiny.

At a case management hearing in Auckland on Monday, Coroner Ian Telford ordered a joint inquest into the deaths of Jack Willson, 10, Luke Ngeru, 15, Eli Hankins, 12, and Wai’aryn Mills, 14. The boys died in accidents between April 2023 and September 2025 at tracks around the North Island.

Telford said that while each case was individually challenging, taken together they presented “a very complex matrix of issues” that required careful and coordinated examination.

The precise scope of the inquest is yet to be determined.

“At this stage it is impossible to say what the scope of the inquest will be …I’m conscious that a lot of work needs to be undertaken before we are at that stage,” he said.

Telford said he anticipated one of the key issues for the inquest to determine is whether “the public interest would be served by these matters being investigated by other authorities”.

Motorcycling New Zealand and the four boys’ respective clubs will be interested parties to the inquest.

Telford acknowledged the weight of the proceedings for the families involved.

“It is without question an extraordinarily difficult day for everybody involved, and particularly the parents of Jack, Luke, Eli and Wai’aryn,” he said.

“No parent would wish to find themselves in a coroner’s court speaking about their children in such dreadful circumstances.”

The joint inquest builds on earlier proceedings into Jack Willson’s death. The Cambridge 10-year-old died after a crash while racing at the Digger McEwen Motocross Park in Taupō in April 2023.

Telford had previously issued findings on the specific circumstances of Jack’s death, with a second stage planned for October last year to examine how similar serious crashes might be prevented.

That hearing was paused after Telford became the responsible coroner for three other young riders who died in what he described as “broadly similar circumstances”.

Details of those cases were temporarily suppressed to allow their families to be informed of the process. The suppression order was lifted on Monday.

The additional cases to be considered involve Luke Ngeru, who died in September 2023 following a motocross accident in Whanganui; Eli Hankins, who died in February 2025 after sustaining a serious head injury during a club day at Auckland’s Pukekohe Motorcycle track; and Wai’aryn Mills, of Pirongia, who died in September last year after a training accident on a Huntly track.

The inquest will seek to establish the circumstances of each death and to consider whether any broader recommendations can be drawn.

A timetable for the inquest is yet to be set.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/16/youth-motocross-in-focus-as-coroner-orders-joint-inquest-into-four-fatalities/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A district court judge has told a judicial conduct panel she was her normal self and not affected by alcohol, as she fights an accusation she disrupted a New Zealand First event.

Judge Ema Aitken is before the panel accused of yelling at Winston Peters during an event at Auckland’s Northern Club in November 2024, saying he was lying. She argues she did not yell, did not recognise Peters, and did not know it was a political event.

The panel continued to hear from Aitken on Monday, resuming her evidence from last week.

She told the panel about a statement released in the wake of the alleged disruption. It had been drafted as a response from Chief District Court Judge Heemi Taumaunu, who had emailed the judge for her input.

She was called by Taumaunu while drafting her response, and told him – and media advisors listening in – that she wanted the statement to include that she did not know who the speaker was or that it was a political event, when she made her remarks.

“The verbal response to me in that call was along the lines of, ‘No, we don’t want to put that in the statement, it’s just buying a fight with New Zealand First,’” Aitken said.

“It was explained that the point of the statement from the chief district court judge was to try and shut the whole thing down in the press.”

Aitken said by 18 December 2024, she had not sought or received legal advice.

“I genuinely did not appreciate the seriousness of the situation, in that it was being advanced as inappropriate conduct by a sitting district court judge which was intentionally and politically motivated,” she said.

Her lawyer, David Jones KC, had asked Aitken about a letter from the attorney-general to the chief justice, claiming she had called out Peters by name during the alleged disruption. That was something Aitken denied.

“I never referred to him by name,” she said. “I didn’t know who he was when I made my comments.”

The panel heard late last week from other district court judges who had been sitting at Aitken’s table during a function at the Northern Club that night. The NZ First event was happening in a separate part of the club.

Judges and others from the table had been called at the request of special counsel, but Jones asked Aitken if she had any issue with them coming to give evidence.

“If I had asked them to come along and give evidence, I have no doubt at all that they would have come,” she said. “But I also appreciated that this was likely to be a very public hearing, and I did not want to put my colleagues in the position of having to give evidence.”

Aitken said she did not want to drag her colleagues into what she called “my problem”.

“This was my conduct and not theirs.”

The panel was played a news clip of then Attorney-General Judith Collins reacting to the disruption.

Collins had said she was “appalled” by her behaviour, but Aitken said the attorney-general had the wrong information.

“I was shocked,” Aitken said. “The information the attorney is basing her comments on is incorrect. Disturbingly, this had been the tenor of media reports and commentary based on incorrect information.”

Aitken was cross-examined by special counsel Tim Stephens KC later on Monday morning.

He began by asking Aitken about the background of her legal career, her time working as a lawyer, and ultimately her appointment as a district court judge.

Stephens asked about her relationship with te ao Māori in the courts. Aitken said she kept her obligations as a judge in mind by acknowledging the crest of the New Zealand coat of arms that hung inside the courts.

“Our responsibility as Treaty partners, whether we’re pākeha or Māori, as judges is to give effect to the coat of arms, which has Māori and pākeha equally depicted in a balanced way in that coat of arms,” she said.

“So I always glance at it when I enter the court, and I do that to remind myself that I must judge without fear or favour, affection or ill will, whoever’s before the court.”

Stephens questioned the judge on what she had had to drink that night at the Northern Club. She recalled she had between one and two glasses of champagne.

It was suggested by Stephens she may have been “disinhibited” by the alcohol.

“You must have been affected to some extent?” he asked.

Aitken rejected that suggestion.

“I was not affected in any way that I felt or discerned at the time,” she said. “I was my normal, tired self.”

Stephens asked Aitken if she recalled saying Peters’ comments were lies or misinformation.

“I’ve never been able to remember the precise words that I used – I’ve maintained that from the outset because I don’t, but they would have been to that effect.”

She disputed calling the comments disgusting, saying she “did not use those words”.

“That’s just not a phrase that I would use, ‘this is disgusting’, in that context. I may have said ‘this is appalling’ – that would be the sort of phrase I might have used – but I did not use that expression.”

The hearing continues on Monday afternoon.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/16/district-court-judge-accused-of-yelling-at-winston-peters-faces-cross-examination/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Heavy rain and wind is hitting the capital, flooding streets in Lower Hutt, closing multiple schools, cutting off power, and bringing trees and debris down in the city.

Meanwhile, the entire Manawatū-Whanganui region is under a state of emergency, where some evacuations have taken place in Manawatū and on the coast of the Tararua district.

Waipā and Ōtorohanga in South Waikato remain under a states of emergency after significant flooding over the weekend.

In Wellington, regional and metro trains have stopped, while ferries and flights have been cancelled.

Streets in Epuni and Naenae appear flooded, with reports on social media of some cars getting stuck in Lower Hutt.

On Monday morning, Powerco said about 23,000 properties across its network had lost connections, and in the Wellington region about 10,000 had had their connections cut.

The storm has left a big mess for the owner of a Polish restaurant at Plimmerton, north of Wellington, to clean up after an exterior wall blew in.

Owner of Topor Bistro, Steve Askew said luckily another local business alerted them as otherwise they might not have been back in till Wednesday.

“I’m sure we’re going to be closed a couple of weeks,” he said.

“All of the ceiling on the inside has gone. All the studs and stuff they’re quite wet, I don’t know if they need to be replaced or if they can just be dried out. The hole in the wall needs to be fixed.”

Askew said the kitchen and main appliances are on the other side and escaped.

He said up till this the bistro had not been doing too badly recently.

A growing list of schools in the Wellington region are also closed due to the terrible weather.

Those include Wellington High School, Wellington East Girls’ College, and St Orans College in the Hutt Valley.

Rongotai College in Wellington has closed for the day with tree debris littering its grounds.

Principal Kevin Carter said he was at the boys’ school in Kilbirnie at 5pm on Sunday and everything was fine, but on Monday morning it was a different story.

“The grounds are covered with branches from trees that have come down … It’s pretty wild and unsafe here on the south coast,” he said.

Some gutters were down but otherwise buildings were not damaged by the look of it. He had had a quick walkaround and would do a closer check later in the hopes they could clean up and the wind would drop.

Carter said they would decide later whether to reopen tomorrow. All families had been advised by email or text the school was closed, he said.

Air New Zealand’s chief operating officer Alex Marren told Nine to Noon nearly 100 flights have been cancelled in and out of Wellington on Sunday and Monday morning.

All flights in the capital, Palmerston North and Napier have been paused until at least 11am, at which point the airline will reassess the weather conditions, Marren said.

She said there had been some “infrastructure impacts” and the airline was working closely with Wellington Airport on that.

In Wairarapa, evacuations are underway in Masterton due to the threat of falling trees.

Wairarapa assistant commander Ian Wright said it had been a busy night with weather-related call outs, which continue, and that trees coming down were the biggest risk.

He said there are shallow rooted trees on Lincoln Road that are “very, very unstable, so both roads have been closed and the people have been evacuated”.

There have been no reports of injuries.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/16/in-pictures-heavy-rain-and-wind-hits-wellington-region-bringing-down-trees-flooding-roads/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A prison expansion is on such a fast track that it prompted officials to ask if compromises were being made.

Corrections is rushing to build two new high security units to cope with an unexpectedly rapid rise in the prison population nationwide since last year.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison was chosen as it had available land, official reports showed. The project was using a stripped-back design of no roofs between cell blocks, which was “untested” for operational, maintenance and amenity impacts.

This was to speed up to finish by next January.

“Speed of delivery will be the biggest driver,” Corrections told ministers.

A prison architecture expert called it a “band-aid” solution that could force inmates to be locked up for longer in bad weather.

Christine McCarthy of Victoria University had been reading the plans.

“They’re very clear; they are not intending to use this design again,” she said. “It’s kind of like, we have to do something, we don’t have any options.”

‘Less amenities’

Papers released under the Official Information Act showed officials last year suggested that ministers asked Corrections: “Have compromises been made in the shortened project development/design that create delivery risks or that impact on operational efficiency, adaptability, future costs, future investment requirements or create prisoner management risks?”

The government said it had been advised there would be no compromises on the highest standards of security and safety.

Corrections’ own business case said the new design was “seen to represent a compromise in amenity compared to the X-wing design” for Waikeria Prison’s much bigger, longer expansion.

The cells would be regular ones, but the shared spaces were changed. It might necessitate additional security measures.

“It has less amenities for prisoners… and is untested in terms of its ‘no roof’ design and the operational and maintenance impacts that may result from that.”

On the flip side of the Hawke’s Bay rush, Christchurch Men’s Prison’s expansion – again, much bigger and longer-term – had been going so slowly by last July that Treasury officials held it up as a case study in “significant lag between funding and action”.

‘Rapid unexpected’ growth exacerbates risks

Prisoner numbers topped a record 11,000 in January and were forecast to reach more than 14,000 in a decade. Over 40 percent of inmates were on remand awaiting a court hearing or sentencing.

Risky prisoners were having to be held in lower security, “increasing operating costs and risks”.

Just months after the government’s 2024 long-term prison plan was completed, it was already outdated, while not even factoring in more muster rises from the government’s new tough-on-crime policies and law changes.

“Rapid unexpected actual and projected growth means capacity limits may be exceeded by 2027, exacerbating operational and security risks,” said a report last July to Chris Bishop’s new Infrastructure and Investment Ministers Group, released to RNZ.

The prison population is now projected by next June to be 1853 higher than the 2024 projections. In response, the government hatched the Accelerated Capacity Programme or ACP mid-year.

“Our work to restore law and order is paying off,” said Mitchell in November, announcing ACP’s cornerstone, the expansion by 316 beds at Hawke’s Bay.

Corrections told RNZ it had accelerated the project “while still retaining checks and safeguards”.

‘Complete commitment to a compromised building’

McCarthy said the department was just reacting to the fact that double-bunking everywhere and reopening old facilities could not cope with a bed shortfall forecast to peak in 2027-29.

“This is a smart way in the situation that has been created, but it’s not going to be the last time this happens.

“This is really quite a fundamental question … can we build our way out of this? So that’s what’s interesting here: there’s a complete commitment to a compromised building.”

The UK, by contrast, said no, it cost too much to keep expanding prisons, and was looking for alternatives, she said.

Reports showed the UK was adding cells https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prison-building-boom-to-make-streets-safer but was also looking at the likes of early release for good behaviour amid “a broader overhaul of sentencing policies aimed at cutting the number of inmates before cells run out”, according to the New York Times.

Labour said National talked tough but could not deliver, with prison projects “stalled in Christchurch and rushed planning in Hawke’s Bay”.

‘Without any compromises to … safety and security’

Corrections told RNZ changes to the Hawke’s Bay design were “to allow for faster delivery without any compromises to the safety and security of the facility”.

The papers released under the Official Information Act revealed how the department planned to speed things up:

• to place the tender on 1 July, weeks before Cabinet approval
• finalise the business case weeks after the tender
• leave out the usual “Gateway” review before seeking Cabinet approval
• Cabinet sign-off was on 18 August.

The speed of this prompted officials to suggest in July 2025 that Bishop’s ministerial group ask, “Why was the RFP [tender] released prior to Cabinet approval? How will the resulting risks with the market be managed?”

And: “What plans does Corrections have to manage the risks of not undertaking independent assurance of the project at an early stage, and how will any adverse findings of the proposed Gateway review in early October be managed?”

Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell told RNZ the Gateway review “commended the department for active efforts to manage all risks”.

He supported the approach, he said in a statement.

“My expectation is that the new units … will meet the highest standards in safety and security, and I have been advised there will be no compromises on that.”

Corrections said it was saving four to six months on an otherwise 22-month build.

The fast track had built-in “off-ramps” if an affordable solution could not be found.

Corrections said it got independent assurance and review, including the cost estimates and a risk estimate, from industry experts.

Builder Naylor Love won the job on 31 October. The expansion is being funded from the department’s baseline. The cost was blanked out of reports.

Double bunking: ‘They’re going to get angry’

Corrections told RNZ the design had less internal communal space but an open-air courtyard instead. It had less admin space for staff, but there was space for that in other parts of the prison.

It was more efficient and better for keeping tabs on prisoners than a courtyard design.

The 160 new cells will nearly all have double-bunking. Squeezing inmates in that way was regularly widely criticised, and New Zealand is a signatory to a convention against it.

Howard League prison reformer Cosmo Jeffrey said the crowding would cost lives.

“So you can’t even walk around each other without banging into each other,” said Jeffrey.

“It’s like, what do they think is going to happen… locking people up like that? Obviously, they’re going to get angry.”

There were three double-bunk deaths at Mt Eden prison last year. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/581339/three-double-bunk-deaths-at-mt-eden-prison-in-a-year

‘Significant lags’

At Christchurch Men’s Prison, earthworks had begun.

The privately operated prison expansion is a $1.5-billion-plus four-phase project that aims to open its first new beds in 2029, and others from 2032.

Jeffrey said some inmates had already been moved out to make way for the expansion.

“This guy’s waited four years to get on the rehabilitation programme, and with 24 hours’ notice, he gets shunted down to Dunedin.

“To put it mildly, he’s heartbroken.”

Another inmate he knew had just started a prison job at Christchurch, then been shifted south.

Corrections said the project should sign up a builder in July. Three groups were shortlisted last year – one had a private US prison operator, Honeywell, on board, and another was multinational Serco that already ran Auckland South prison.

Treasury told ministers last year that the 15 months or so it was taking between Budget 2025 funding and signing the contract had put Christchurch Men’s into a group of two major projects – another was a mental health build – for a time lag of over a year.

It suggested the ministers shared “lessons” from the lag.

“Billions in new Crown funding are being committed each year, but we are seeing significant lags between Budget decisions, signing contracts, and commencing delivery and construction activity,” the report for the June 2025 quarter said, looking ahead to Budget 2026 bids.

Mitchell told RNZ he had been assured Christchurch Men’s was on schedule. It was very different from Hawke’s Bay and should not be compared, he said.

Hawke’s Bay’s existing high-security units overheated in summer, sparking a fix-it project last year.

Corrections said when it planned prisons, it took into account basing prisoners close to family where it could, the security level of prisoners, as well as the services they required.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/16/multiplying-cells-a-tale-of-two-prisons/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wind gusts measuring up to 240km/h have been recorded on the east coast of the lower North Island with gusts of up to 190km/h hitting high parts of Wellington.

MetService said the strong winds and heavy rain were set to linger over the lower North Island before gradually heading southwards later on Monday and on Tuesday.

Gusts measuring up to 240km/h have been recorded at Cape Turnagain on the east coast of the lower North Island.

While in Wellington, winds have reached up to 190km/h in high parts – and about 130km/h in the city.

MetService meteorologist John Law said a low pressure system sitting to the east of the North Island was expected to track slowly southwards.

He said heavy rain and severe gales were expected to continue over central and southern parts of the North Island as well as reaching eastern parts of the South Island and Chatham Islands.

“The good news is – as we head through the day today – we should start to see those winds easing off – so we’ve probably seen the peak of those winds. But even by Wellington standards it’s a very windy start to the week,” Law said.

Law said “intense bursts of rain” had seen up to 200mm of rain fall over parts of Wairarapa overnight Monday.

“With that low pressure out to the east of the North Island it’s been pushing the rain in particularly across those lower parts. Cape Palliser has seen some of the highest rainfall. Intense bursts of rain through there and just prolonged rain through the night-time. As we saw In parts of the Hutt Valley that combination of strong winds and heavy rain are bringing all sorts of impacts,” Law said.

He said hard hit parts of southern Waikato, such as Otorohanga, should see clearing conditions over the oncoming days.

“The good news – as we head through today – this rain is clearing away down towards the south. Still a few showers possible but nowhere near the level we’ve seen in recent days. While a few showers are still possible for today things are getting better,” he said.

Law said that more weather warnings could be on the way as the low pressure system slowly headed southwards.

“This weather system is sticking with us. A big area of high pressure out to the east is blocking the movement of this low so it stays close by. It will sink southwards which will push that rain in towards parts of the South Island. So places like the Kaikōura Coast, parts of Canterbury particularly – places like Banks Peninsula – already have some severe weather watches and warnings. We may well find more issued for parts of those eastern areas of the South Island,” Law said.

Law said rain over the eastern side of the South Island was less likely to be as intense as the system migrated southwards over coming days and south westerly flows were expected to help clear the system during Tuesday and early Wednesday.

“That’s when we finally say good-bye to this weather system,” Law said.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/16/wind-gusts-measuring-up-to-240km-h-recorded-on-lower-north-islands-east-coast/

Source: Radio New Zealand

About a dozen Ashhurst residents were evacuated in darkness in the early hours of the morning as the Pohangina River threatened to breach its banks.

Severe weather hammering the lower North Island has downed trees, left tens of thousands of households without power, closed roads, and forced flight and ferry cancellations.

Emergency services went door-to-door on Saddle and River roads in Ashhurst, waking locals from their slumber and moving them to the safety of the hall at the Ashhurst Village Centre.

Grace Guo and teenage daughters Kerry and Claire decided to stay in their home when neighbours first warned them they may have to evacuate at about 9pm Sunday.

She said conditions didn’t appear as bad as during ex-Cyclone Gabrielle, but the trio still had an anxious night fearing floodwaters would come through their home as happened in 2023.

“I was just a bit panicked actually. We couldn’t sleep. We were awake the whole night.

“About 3 o’clock or something in the morning we got a call from them again ‘saying hey you guys have to evacuate’, so we came here.”

Guo said unlike ex-Cyclone Gabrielle she was prepared for the evacuation when it came and even the family’s two dogs came with them to the Ashurst Village Centre hall.

She was full of praise for the emergency services.

Wendy Morley, who lives on Saddle Road near the Pohangina River, said they had received warnings during evening of a possible evacuation, and her family received a call at 3am.

“We couldn’t see much in the dark, so had left it at that and next minute – boom.

“We were expecting it, so we had to wake up and get the kids ready and get the cars out and get going.”

Wendy Morley’s son, 10-year-old Digger, was shaken up at first.

“It was scary because I never did this before.”

He hadn’t slept but breakfast got his seal of approval.

“It was good. I had Coco Pops and hot chocolate and lollies.”

Happy with ‘cautious’ approach

Cherie O’Leary and her family had been evacuated from River Road.

“It was just a bit rainy that was it. No flooding. You couldn’t even see the river from our place not like 2023 for Cyclone Gabriel.”

But she was still happy Civil Defence had taken a precautionary approach.

“Yeah, definitely. You’ve got to be cautious and be safe for everyone, so I’m happy with that.”

The O’Learys had spend the night drinking coffee and catching up with neighbours.

“We’ve been having a few laughs and they cooked us a really yummy breakfast, so that was great.

“We had bacon and eggs and cereals, all sorts, fruit. I must say Civil Defence are really cool.”

Cherie’s dad George Pilcher was taking it all in his stride.

“I got up at about 1.30am to see what was happening and it all looked good, so I went back to bed, and then Craig my son-in-law came and tapped on the door and said ‘we’ve got to evacuate, we’ve been told we have to get out’.

“We’ve been sitting here since 3am and we’re ready to go home again by the sound of it.”

He too was happy to be safe rather than sorry.

Emergency Management Officer Zarra Houpapa said with the weather system overnight and the amount of water coming down the river the decision to evacuate had be made.

“The main concern was the raising river levels particularly around Saddle Road, so we’d been monitoring it all yesterday afternoon and last night and in the early hours of this morning the decision was made to evacuate.”

Zarra Houpapa said at the halls the residents were given somewhere they could get some sleep and know that they were safe.

At about 10am Monday they got the news they could go home.

“So, just know we’ve let them go back home because the river levels have fallen to a point where we are comfortable that they will be safe to go home and get some sleep.”

Grace Guo was overjoyed.

“Oh, I’m really pleased. We are really happy, finally we can go home my two dogs as well. They were very unsettled.”

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/16/weather-ashhurst-residents-evacuated-as-river-threatened-to-breach-its-banks/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Friends are delivering bottled water to a Christchurch mother whose immunocompromised daughter relies on sterile medical equipment for feeding, with 14,000 households in the city’s east still under a boil water notice.

Kalah Blair’s 11-year-old daughter Maia has a number of medical issues and disabilities, including severe autism and the rare genetic disorder Sotos syndrome.

A public health alert was issued on Saturday afternoon for thousands of people in New Brighton, Burwood, Wainoni, Aranui and Southshore after routine testing discovered total coliforms in the Rawhiti water zone.

The alert said all water, including filtered water, must be continuously boiled for at least one minute, prompting a run on bottled water at supermarkets.

Blair said Maia was tube-fed so relied on clean water to protect her health.

“She’s on her medical pump for five hours per day and we have to do 200-mill flushes with every feed, so that’s nearly two litres of water per day, just for her feeding. Then I’ve got to make up some of her medication with water, then I have to sterilise all of her syringes and other medical equipment,” she told Morning Report.

“It’s a very full-on thing to do, but when you’re having to use bottled water and then boil that to sterilise things, it makes life so much harder.”

Blair was first alerted to the problem on Saturday when she received the emergency mobile alert.

“It was like, ‘oh my god I need to get bottled water’ and go through and tip out all of her drink bottles,” she said.

While Blair could boil water, she did not want to take any risks with Maia.

“A cold isn’t just a cold, it can literally put her in hospital for days. We just have to be super careful with her,” she said.

A friend sent bottles of water via Uber on Saturday, while another friend and Christchurch East Labour MP Reuben Davidson brought water on Sunday.

On Monday morning, Blair had not heard directly from any council staff and was calling for a register of vulnerable people who could be contacted by the council in a health crisis.

“If something like this happens again, the council can contact us and say, ‘hey look, this is the situation, this is how long we think it’s going to last, is there any support we can give you? Or point us in the direction of help and support. It’s not just Maia, there are other people in this community who are medically fragile or disabled as well,” she said.

On Sunday, the council said the boil water notice would not be lifted until there were at least three days of good results.

“Results from sampling in the wider Rawhiti zone are looking good. However, as we have had a further positive result in the same location, the boil water notice is still in place,” the council said.

“The notice will then be lifted once we can provide confidence to Tauamata Arowai that the water is safe to drink. Part of this assessment will be ensuring we also have at least three days of good results.”

A community drinking water station was open in Keyes Road in New Brighton for people to fill containers with safe drinking water while staff and contractors continued to investigate the source of the contamination.

Total coliforms are a broad category of bacteria that can be found in faeces, but also live in the environment, including in soil and plants.

They do not generally pose a direct health risk, but the presence of total coliforms indicated bacteria were present and that treatment has not been effective or that treated water was vulnerable to contamination, according to water regulator Taumata Arowai.

The council said the Ministry of Education had been in touch with early childhood centres and schools to ensure they remained open.

“They have a good plan in place to manage the situation and the council will provide support to the ministry where we can. If parents have questions, they are encouraged to contact their respective schools and centres directly,” the council said.

People in the affected suburbs were already struggling with intensifying odour from the city’s fire-damaged wastewater treatment plant in Bromley in recent weeks.

Christchurch City Council and Health New Zealand have been contacted for comment.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/16/mothers-struggles-with-immunocompromised-daughter-amid-christchurchs-boil-water-notice/

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Severe weather hammering the lower North Island has left tens of thousands of households without power.

Powerco says about 23,000 properties across its network have lost connections, and in the Wellington region about 10,000 have their connections cut.

Here’s how to stay safe, keep warm and protect your home and belongings when the power goes out.

Call your lines company

It’s quite common for power cuts to last only a few minutes, so you may want to wait a while before making the call.

However, if you’re concerned about the length of the outage, give your lines company a ring.

You can also check the supplier’s website and social media to see if the outage was planned, or if there’s an update on when power will be restored.

Your wifi and cordless landline phone will likely be affected in a power cut, so it’s best to use your mobile phone for this.

If a power outage is putting your health at risk, call 111 or go to a hospital.

Turn on the torch

In a power outage, the best torch is the one you have to hand.

For many, this will mean your phone torch – but try not to use this long-term, as it will drain your battery, meaning you may not be able to call for help if you need it.

It’s a good idea to have an emergency kit to hand, containing a torch and spare batteries, among other items.

Torches and battery-powered lanterns are safer to use in a power cut than candles.

Break out the supplies

Vector advises that water pumps in rural areas may not work in a power cut – so you should make sure you have emergency water supplies for drinking and washing.

A spare battery or mobile power pack for your phone, a camp stove or barbecue, and cooking fuel (such as gas) are also helpful items to have in the event of an extended power cut.

Clear your home of hazards

Have a quick look around your house and move any items that could be easily tripped on, such as children’s toys, from corridors, doorways and high-traffic areas.

This will lessen the chances of you injuring yourself in the dark.

Powershop recommends placing a camping lamp at the edge of the room by the wall to light your path, and says it’s especially important that access to the bathroom and the emergency cupboard are clear.

Turn electronics off at the wall

Power can surge when it’s restored, possibly damaging sensitive electronics.

Turn your TV, computer and stereo off at the wall or make sure you have surge protectors installed.

Vector recommends turning off your stove elements and heaters, too – this will ensure they don’t come back on without you noticing the electricity has been restored.

The Electricity Authority recommends leaving an overhead light on so you can see when the power is back on.

Keep the fridge closed

Opening the fridge or freezer will let warmer air in – and without electricity, it won’t be able to cool down again.

If left shut, the fridge will keep food cool for up to six hours, while a freezer will usually keep food frozen for up to 24 hours.

If there’s food inside that you know you’ll need in the short-term, consider removing it at the start of the power cut and storing it in a chilly bin or ice box. That way your snacking won’t spoil the rest of your supplies.

The Ministry for Primary Industries recommends eating food that will expire quickly, such as bread and meat, first, and eating canned food last.

If any food is spoiled or rotting, throw it away so it doesn’t spoil other food.

Stay warm

If it’s a cold day or night, you can keep warm by closing your doors and windows and pulling the curtains.

Water can be boiled on a camp stove to fill hot water bottles. Remember never to operate a camp stove inside.

Gel warming packs are also good items to have in your emergency kit, as they can keep chilled fingers and toes toasty.

Check on your neighbours

If it’s safe to go outside, check on your neighbours. This is especially important if you have older or vulnerable people living around you.

If it’s not safe to go out, give them a call or a text.

Listen to the radio

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) advises that in times of crisis or civil defence emergency, a battery-powered radio or a car radio remain essential lifelines if power is out and other forms of communication are unavailable.

RNZ is New Zealand’s statutory civil defence lifeline radio broadcaster, providing vital information and updates as they come to hand. All frequencies can be found here.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/16/power-outages-what-to-do-and-what-not-to-do-when-the-electricity-goes-out/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Heavy rain and wind is hitting the capital, flooding streets in Lower Hutt, closing multiple schools, cutting off power, and bringing trees and debris down in the city.

Meanwhile, the entire Manawatū-Whanganui region is under a state of emergency, where some evacuations have taken place in Manawatū and on the coast of the Tararua district.

Waipā and Ōtorohanga in South Waikato remain under a states of emergency after significant flooding over the weekend.

In Wellington, regional and metro trains have stopped, while ferries and flights have been cancelled.

Streets in Epuni and Naenae appear flooded, with reports on social media of some cars getting stuck in Lower Hutt.

On Monday morning, Powerco said about 23,000 properties across its network had lost connections, and in the Wellington region about 10,000 had had their connections cut.

The storm has left a big mess for the owner of a Polish restaurant at Plimmerton, north of Wellington, to clean up after an exterior wall blew in.

Owner of Topor Bistro, Steve Askew said luckily another local business alerted them as otherwise they might not have been back in till Wednesday.

“I’m sure we’re going to be closed a couple of weeks,” he said.

“All of the ceiling on the inside has gone. All the studs and stuff they’re quite wet, I don’t know if they need to be replaced or if they can just be dried out. The hole in the wall needs to be fixed.”

Askew said the kitchen and main appliances are on the other side and escaped.

He said up till this the bistro had not been doing too badly recently.

A growing list of schools in the Wellington region are also closed due to the terrible weather.

Those include Wellington High School, Wellington East Girls’ College, and St Orans College in the Hutt Valley.

Rongotai College in Wellington has closed for the day with tree debris littering its grounds.

Principal Kevin Carter said he was at the boys’ school in Kilbirnie at 5pm on Sunday and everything was fine, but on Monday morning it was a different story.

“The grounds are covered with branches from trees that have come down … It’s pretty wild and unsafe here on the south coast,” he said.

Some gutters were down but otherwise buildings were not damaged by the look of it. He had had a quick walkaround and would do a closer check later in the hopes they could clean up and the wind would drop.

Carter said they would decide later whether to reopen tomorrow. All families had been advised by email or text the school was closed, he said.

Air New Zealand’s chief operating officer Alex Marren told Nine to Noon nearly 100 flights have been cancelled in and out of Wellington on Sunday and Monday morning.

All flights in the capital, Palmerston North and Napier have been paused until at least 11am, at which point the airline will reassess the weather conditions, Marren said.

She said there had been some “infrastructure impacts” and the airline was working closely with Wellington Airport on that.

In Wairarapa, evacuations are underway in Masterton due to the threat of falling trees.

Wairarapa assistant commander Ian Wright said it had been a busy night with weather-related call outs, which continue, and that trees coming down were the biggest risk.

He said there are shallow rooted trees on Lincoln Road that are “very, very unstable, so both roads have been closed and the people have been evacuated”.

There have been no reports of injuries.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/16/heavy-rain-and-wind-hits-wellington-region-bringing-down-trees-flooding-roads/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wānaka freeskier Luca Harrington has qualified for the final of the big air at the Winter Olympics.

Harrington finished fifth after three rounds of qualifying, with the top 12 from the 29 entrants progressing through to Wednesday’s final.

The 2025 big air world champion was in 12th place after the first run with a score of 84.25 after completing a right double cork 1440 and back with a 1260 with safety grab.

The 21-year-old followed that up with a switch right triple cork 1800 with a two handed grab in his second run to score 92.00 and move up to fifth overall.

He then finished with a right-side triple cork 1980 safety grab in his third run to score 87.75.

His combined two best runs scored 179.75 while American Mac Forehand finished top with 183.00.

“Felt really good, came in with a plan and executed the plan,” Harrington told Sky Sports afterwards.

“I’ve been really working hard on that first trick I put down and it didn’t get rewarded the way I wanted it to. It’s been one of the hardest tricks I’ve ever worked through so that was a bit of a shame to see.”

Harrington admitted his bronze in the slopestyle last week did affect him.

“It was hard to mentally get back into the swing of things and focus up to work my hardest in big air, but by the third night of training I was feeling really good again.

“No matter how this goes I’m just so honoured to be here and hopefully put down a good show in finals as well.”

Fellow New Zealanders Ben Barclay finished 19th and Lucas Ball 24th in qualifying.

Earlier on Monday Queenstown skier Alice Robinson finished eighth in the giant slalom.

And Dane Menzies and Zoi Sadowski-Synnot topped their respective snowboarding slopestyle qualifying.

The women’s slopestyle final is scheduled for 1am Wednesday morning (NZT) with the men’s on Thursday at 12:30am (NZT).

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/16/world-champion-luca-harrington-qualifies-for-big-air-final/