Category: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman accused of defrauding a man out of more than half a million-dollars in an alleged 18-year romance scam has appeared in court for the first time today.

The 44-year-old Auckland woman was arrested last week after a search warrant was carried out by the Dunedin Police and assisted by the Auckland City Financial Crime Unit.

She appeared in court on Tuesday charged with obtaining more than $517,000 from the unsuspecting Dunedin man between 2006 to 2024.

Judge Belinda Sellars KC granted her interim name suppression and remanded her on bail. She has been charged with obtaining by deception.

Police said romance scams were usually carried out by offshore offenders, making prosecutions difficult for law enforcement.

They often involved someone falling in love online, and giving the scammer money, without ever meeting in-person.

Speaking broadly about romance scams, head of Auckland’s Financial Crimes Unit Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Bolton told RNZ he had never seen a local perpetrator before.

“I’ve been in this role for three years and I haven’t seen one local as a perpetrator,” he said.

“It’s all offshore, it’s all scam centres around the world.”

Bolton said offshore perpetrators were impossible to catch.

“From New Zealand, impossible, there’s no lines of inquiry, the scam centres use layering through numerous jurisdiction and countries before they actually receive the funds so there’s no way of us following it.”

Detective Bolton warned those online against potential scams.

“If you are falling in love online, highly likely it’s a scam, if you are befriending someone online, highly likely it’s a scam, if you are being convinced to invest online, highly likely it’s a scam,” he said.

“Nearly every single one of these examples starts with online contact. The victims never meet the person in person, it’s all done online and they’re always scams.”

Bolton said scammers made up excuses like being on military deployment or on an oil rig to avoid meeting in person.

He said police were seeing fewer romance scams recently.

“End of last year, there were two or three that we saw, and then this year we haven’t seen one romance scam complaint in Auckland City District.”

They were, however, being replaced by crypto currency scams, he said.

“The scammer is befriending the victim, and/or falling in love with the victim online, and the victim’s being convinced to invest in crypto.”

Bolton said victims were convinced to invest into a crypto wallet controlled by the scammer, where they are tricked into investing more money.

Police saw cases of crypto scams every week, he said.

Offering broad advice, Netsafe chief online safety officer Sean Lyons said romance scams could take many forms.

“They might now look like much more complicated investment scams, that can be in a whole range of different forms, but at some point the original convincer probably was some kind of romantic relationship.”

“Our numbers for those kinds of scams are probably still on the increase, but that straight categorisation as a ‘this is a romance scam’ is possibly falling away,” he said.

Those concerned they were being scammed should take a step back moment to look at the whole picture, Lyons said

“Take a beat and think about what it is that’s happening here, aside from the romantic side of what’s happening, how much risk or how exposed am I in what it is that I’m about to do,” he said.

“If you feel uncomfortable with that, it doesn’t mean the relationship’s over, but it just might mean that you take that kind of power or take that moment to say ‘actually, the relationship aside, I’m not comfortable doing this so I’m not going to do it’.”

Lyons said it could be difficult for people to spot scam flags at the best of times, no matter what they may be.

“Often one kind of flag on its own is easily explained away, or could easily be missed, but it’s often the picture that if people are able to stand back at a period or get another persons view that’s not quite so emotionally invested in the relationship itself, that suddenly these things can become very clear,” he said.

Changing the course of a conversation suddenly to money, often with time pressure, or the speed in which a relationship may be moving could be flags to look out for, Lyons said.

The alleged scammer was scheduled to reappear in court next month.

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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/2026/02/17/auckland-woman-appears-in-court-for-alleged-18-year-elaborate-romance-scam/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A High Court judge in Auckland has reserved her decision on whether to overturn a District Court ruling that voided the outcome of the 2025 local body election in Papatoetoe.

The petition had been filed by the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team, which won all four seats on the Local Board subdivision.

Closing proceedings for the day, High Court Justice Jane Anderson said it was a “tricky, conceptual, intellectual exercise”.

The judge promised to deliver the decision as quickly as possible.

Ben Keith, legal counsel representing the winning candidates, called Manukau District Court Judge Richard McIlraith’s decision in December “neither fair, nor sound”.

In his submissions, Keith said the District Court appeared to accept the argument presented by former Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board member Lehopoaome Vi Hausia that a 7 percent increase in voter turnout could only be explained by misconduct.

However, Kieth argued the court should have considered other possibilities, pointing to a lengthy list of campaign activities that had been undertaken by the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team as well as extra votes that had been prompted by Auckland Council’s “vote on the go” events.

Keith also argued the District Court came to its decision after ignoring demographic changes that had boosted overall voter numbers in recent years, with a greater percentage of Indian households now living in the area.

Simon Mitchell, representing the Labour candidates in the local body election, described the voting irregularities as “significant”.

He dismissed claims the result was due to the winning candidates running a strong campaign or demographic changes in the electorate, describing the irregular special votes in Papatoetoe as an outlier compared to the remainder of Auckland.

Twenty candidates have since thrown their hat into the ring to contest the new Papatoetoe subdivision election that has been organised following the District Court ruling in December.

Voting opens on 9 March and closes at midday on 9 April, with ballots sent by post to all eligible voters.

In December, Judge McIlraith ruled that voting irregularities materially affected the result of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board election, declaring it void.

Hausia told the court he had received reports of voting papers being stolen from residents and submitted without their consent.

Hausia also argued the election result was inconsistent with historic voting patterns.

At a preliminary hearing, Judge McIlraith ordered five ballot boxes containing votes from the electorate to be scrutinised.

Seventy-nine voting papers were subsequently identified during examination as having been cast without the rightful voter’s knowledge.

Papatoetoe was the only Auckland electorate to record a significant rise in turnout in the latest local body election.

While other Auckland areas saw turnout drop, voting numbers in Papatoetoe increased by more than 7 percent.

All four seats went to first-time candidates from the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team.

The Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board has two subdivisions, with the Ōtara having three seats and Papatoetoe four.

None of the previous local board members of the Papatoetoe subdivision were re-elected.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/17/judge-deciding-whether-to-overturn-papatoetoe-election-ruling/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Follow our liveblog above.

The storm that caused widespread flooding and wind damage in the North Island has moved south, with Banks Peninsula to bear the brunt.

A Local State of Emergency has been declared for Banks Peninsula.

Christchurch’s Heathcote River has breached its banks.

Part of SH75, the main road from Christchurch to Akaroa, is closed and boil water notice is in place for Wainui on Banks Peninsula.

Meanwhile thousands of homes are still without power in the North Island.

Follow our liveblog at the top of this page.

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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/2026/02/17/live-weather-akaroa-on-banks-peninsula-will-remain-cut-off-overnight-due-to-flooding-slips/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A local said there had been multiple complaints about dogs roaming in the area and chasing people before the death of a woman in Kaihu, Northland.

Emergency services were called to the property on State Highway 12 at 11.25am on Tuesday.

Upon arrival, police found a woman dead.

Kaipara District Council’s animal management team confirmed it had responded to an incident involving dogs and a person at a property earlier on Tuesday, and was now investigating.

Do you know more? Email iwitness@rnz.co.nz

The dogs had been secured.

“At this stage we’re unable to provide any further details or comment while a response and investigation is underway.”

Police were carrying out a scene examination and said there was no risk to the public in relation to the incident.

A local told RNZ there were complaints about dogs in the area made by multiple people but nothing had been done about it.

They said the dogs had been at the property for about a year.

In that time, they said they’d complained to Kaipara District Council at least four times about the dogs.

“There’s been so many complaints about them in the last year – the council know and haven’t done anything.

“They run out onto the road all the time. I was really scared about that and somebody getting hurt.”

They believed what had happened could have been avoided.

The local also said the dogs from that property ran after cars, motorbikes and push bikes when they came down the road.

The area was part of the Kaihu Valley cycle trail, and the local said tourists were often the ones on bikes on the road.

They said just a few months ago they’d heard of a couple who’d had to turn around on the road because of the dogs.

“I just don’t know how they can promote it [cycle trail] knowing there’s a dog problem down here.”

Checkpoint asked Kaipara District Council for a response to the local’s comments.

A spokesperson said the council “can’t provide any further information or comment on this incident while an investigation is underway.”

“Our staff are actively working with police now to understand the sequence of events and what occurred on the property today,” the spokesperson said.

St John confirmed an ambulance and helicopter were called to the scene at 11.22am, but referred further queries to police.

The incident comes amid growing calls for an overhaul of dog control laws.

Meanwhile, a Northlander whose relative was killed by dogs said today’s incident showed people needed to take dog ownership more seriously.

Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board member Roddy Hapati Pihema’s aunt was killed by dogs in 2023.

“This is just unbelievable. There’s been a lot of lives taken by dogs, it’s concerning that this issue hasn’t been prioritised as much as it should be. We still have dogs running around on the streets, we still have dogs running through recreation reserves,” he said.

“This continues to be a really concerning space considering we’re not actually learning from the people being mauled, the people who have been unfortunate to lose their lives. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Pihema said.

“The majority of people do [understand the risk of dogs] but there’s quite a large number out there that like to have the puppy but don’t want the responsibility of the dog.”

He said the council was doing what it could to tackle the issue, but there was little they could do if owners didn’t take responsibility.

A Whangārei woman who is trying to change animal ownership laws said she was heartbroken to learn of another fatal dog attack in her region.

Tracy Clarke said she was devastated to learn of the attack.

“My heart absolutely sunk and tears welled up because this has been going on now for far too long, too many people are losing their lives as a result of dog attacks.”

She had a petition before Select Committee to strengthen dog ownership laws.

“The current legislation is out of date and needs to be brought up to today’s dog population and the difference in ownership,” she said.

The petition seeks substantial changes to the dog ownership legislation and council bylaws, in order to end the problem of roaming dogs in New Zealand.

“We’re at crisis point as a nation and it needs to be sorted urgently.”

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/17/multiple-complaints-before-woman-mauled-to-death-by-dogs-at-house-in-kaihu-northland/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government is seeking advice on whether to bring in a toll on the existing Auckland Harbour Bridge, to help pay for a second Waitematā Harbour crossing.

The Infrastructure Commission has suggested a toll as high as $9, a figure the Transport Minister says would be a “big decision” to make.

The government continues to mull over its options as to what a new crossing would look like, such as a tunnel or second bridge.

In the newly-released National Infrastructure Plan, the Infrastructure Commission said new revenue would be needed to fund the crossing.

High-level analysis suggested a $9 toll “on both new and existing crossings” could raise between $7 billion and $9 billion, depending on the tolling period.

“Higher tolls may not raise more revenue, as they would divert too many users and erode viability, and tolling only the new crossing would sharply limit revenue,” the Commission wrote.

“Other funding mechanisms are possible, but would likely require non-users to contribute funding which may not be considered equitable or favourable.”

When the bridge was first opened in 1959, motorists had to pay 2 shillings and 6 pence, a figure the Commission said equalled around $9 in 2025.

Tolls were removed in 1984.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the new crossing would be the biggest infrastructure project New Zealand has ever done.

While the new crossing would be tolled, a question remained over whether the existing bridge would be tolled as well.

“We are working our way through that. That’s a very big decision for the country to make,” he said.

Bishop said he would not get ahead of any decision, and the government was working through it in a “methodical and comprehensive way” as the Commission said it should do.

“We’re working our way through quite a complicated series of funding questions and financing questions around the second harbour crossing. It will be a very large infrastructure project. All large infrastructure projects have to be paid for. So we’re working our way through that.”

He said “in theory,” a new crossing should be able “wash its own face, financially,” due to the number of vehicle movements.

ACT leader David Seymour, an Auckland-based MP, said $9 per trip added up to $90 a week for some people who would already be trying to pay “tough” bills.

“I think you’re going to struggle with that level of price. But you could imagine that maybe at a peak hour, when it was mostly buses and ridesharing, maybe for a part of the day. But I don’t think making everybody pay $9 with no alternative is going to fly.”

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/17/government-considers-9-auckland-harbour-bridge-toll-to-help-pay-for-second-crossing/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are seeking the public’s help in solving a “high-value burglary” in West Auckland.

A “significant amount of silver and gold” was stolen from a home in Swanson sometime between 14 and 27 January, including one-ounce (28.3g) gold coins and 1kg silver bars.

“Each of the bars is imprinted with ‘MW’ (Morris & Watson) inscription,” Detective Shaun Galbraith said.

The combined value was “significant”, he said, but admitted the police needed help.

“We would like to hear from anyone who may have seen any suspicious people or vehicles around the Swanson Road and Christian Road areas between 14-27 January.

“If you noticed unusual activity near rural driveways, gate areas, or properties backing onto the Swanson rail corridor then please reach out.”

Anyone offered the purchase of gold and silver “in unusual circumstances” should get in touch he said, via 105 online or the phone, quoting reference number 260128/8576.

Alternatively an anonymous report could be made through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555.

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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/2026/02/17/gold-coins-and-silver-bars-stolen-from-west-auckland-home/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington Water estimates around 3 million litres of untreated, unscreened wastewater has been discharged into the sea in the last 24 hours.

On 4 February the Moa Point Wastewater Plant failed, sending millions of litres of raw sewage into Cook Strait every day.

The majority of wastewater is being screened and discharged through the long outfall pipe, but excess volumes of unscreened wastewater are going into the sea through the short outfall pipe.

Wellington Water says Moa Point currently can only pump between 1300 and 1500 litres per second through the long outfall – more than enough for average dry weather flows.

Prior to this week’s stormy weather, the shortfall pipe had not had to be used since the plant flooded earlier this month.

Wellington Water asked the public to avoid flushing non-biodegradable items such as wet wipes and personal care products (ie. pads, tampons) to help reduce the amount of unscreened material being discharged from the short outfall pipe.

It said workers onsite at Moa Point were continuing to assess the damage, and working to manage odour and network flows.

“Our top priority is to increase the volume of screened wastewater that can be discharged via the long outfall pipe.”

Wellington Water said it was working this week to construct a much larger air vent on the outfall pipe to help improve the flow of water through the pipe.

“We are continuing to look for other options to increase the flow through the long outfall pipe, while screening remains the only treatment function in operation.”

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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/2026/02/17/moa-point-3-million-litres-of-untreated-wastewater-released-in-24-hours/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Rangitikei mayor wants people to stop taking “disaster sightseeing” trips into the back country because they are getting in the way of contractors doing their jobs.

“Sections of Marton and Taihape are also without electricity, and people should prepare to be without power for a number of days,” Andy Watson said on Tuesday, following bad weather.

Generators were being used to maintain water supplies in population centres.

Meanwhile, council staff and contractors were clearing a huge number of fallen trees from roads around the district and some local roads remained closed.

In its midday update on Tuesday, Powerco said there were about 8220 customers without power across its network area, with the most impacted regions being Whanganui (3284), Manawatū (3801) and Wairarapa (1103).

“Multiple poles and lines are down, particularly in the Whanganui and Manawatū regions, with complete rebuilds of sections of the electricity network needed before power can be restored,” the lines company said.

“One of the hardest-hit areas is Himatangi in Manawatū, where our contracting crews are needing to rebuild the power line network on some of the roads.”

Powerco said the severity of the damage meant it was unable to say when electricity supply would be restored.

“Good power restoration gains are expected on Tuesday with improved weather conditions in the regions hardest hit by wild weather overnight Sunday and [on Monday].”

The company said crews from throughout the North Island were helping restore power to customers in Whanganui-Rangitīkei, Manawatū-Tararua and Wairarapa.

“Helicopters have been used this morning to assess damage from the air, so that contracting crews can then access remote areas with the correct equipment.”

Meanwhile, Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith said a small number of Ashhurst residents could expect ongoing disruption from the aftermath of the wild weather, but by-and-large the city had emerged unscathed.

Smith said the Saddle Road remained closed while council staff and contractors began the clean-up operation.

“My understanding is that there is still surface flooding there. It was a pretty big storm, so there’ll be some carnage there for a little while as the clean-up happens.

“Obviously trees [are] down, and what’s been washed down the Pohangina River as it joins up with the Manawatū.”

Smith said the Saddle and River Road area of Ashhurst was low-lying and prone to flooding.

About a dozen residents were evacuated in the early hours of Monday morning when officials became concerned about the Pohangina River. They were allowed to return home a few hours later.

Smith said officials tended to take a level of precaution when considering the area.

“We did declare a state of emergency in a precautionary approach, but some of our neighbours in the headwaters of the Rangitikei and Manawatū rivers were hit a lot worse than we were.”

Smith said Palmerston North had been able to release some staff to help with the clean-up in the Rangitikei and Tararua regions.

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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/2026/02/17/disaster-sightseeing-getting-in-way-of-contractors-mayor-of-storm-hit-rangitikei-says/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Follow our live blog for updates above.

A person has been killed by dogs at a property in Kaihu, Northland.

Emergency services were called to the property on State Highway 12 at 11.25am.

Upon arrival, police found a dead person.

Kaipara District Council’s animal management team confirmed they are responding to and investigating an incident involving dogs and a person at a property earlier on Tuesday.

The dogs have been secured.

“At this stage we re unable to provide any further details or comment while a response and investigation is underway.”

Police, who are also carrying out a scene examination, said there is no risk to the public in relation to the incident.

St John confirmed an ambulance and helicopter were called to the scene at 11.22 this morning, but referred further queries to police.

The incident comes amid growing calls for an overhaul of dog control laws.

A resident of the Far North community of Ahipara last week told RNZ residents had been arming themselves with sticks to protect against roaming dogs.

Follow our live blog for updates at the top of this page.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/17/person-killed-by-dogs-in-kaihu-northland/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Public Service Commission says the Teaching Council fell well short of public sector standards in its management of procurement and conflicts of interest.

The commission has published its investigation into procurement and conflict of interest management involving the advertising firm Clemenger, digital engagement services, and te reo Māori instruction, translation, and Māori cultural advice.

“Our investigation found that on multiple occasions between late 2018 and early 2025, the Teaching Council conducted procurement activities which did not comply with its internal policies and fell short of relevant system guidance. Some of these procurement activities also involved a conflict of interest which, in our view, was not appropriately identified or managed,” it said.

“This was not an issue of technical non-compliance. Key steps in the requisite processes did not occur, creating significant organisational and reputational risks. The Teaching Council’s management of these activities fell short (and sometimes well short) of the standards expected in the public sector. This has the potential to undermine public trust in the organisation.”

The report said the council’s chief executive, Lesley Hoskin, had a conflict of interest with regard to Clemenger because her husband is the company’s managing director and has shares in the company.

It said the council engaged Clemenger for three projects, and though Hoskin declared the conflict and was not involved in awarding the contracts there was “varying compliance” with the council’s procurement policy.

“Many of the contracts linked to these initiatives were not procured through competitive processes, and the grounds for exemption from this requirement in the Teaching

Council’s procurement policy were not thoroughly considered, documented or approved. We have particularly serious concerns about a contract related to the communications strategy initiative, which was finalised for a value of $570,000 (later varied to $530,000) following a Request for Proposal (RFP) indicating a value of $75,000. The description of services provided under this contract also differed significantly from the workstreams identified in the RFP.”

The report said the council engaged two contractors for “digital engagement” without a competitive process, creating a risk of perceived bias or favouritism, though there was no evidence of conflicts of interest.

It said multiple contracts for te reo Māori instruction, translation and cultural advice did not comply with internal procurement policy but there was no evidence that the deputy chief executive sponsoring the projects had a conflict of interest.

The report said the council had “low maturity” in conflict management because it relied on annual declarations of conflicts of interest rather than actively managing them.

“The Teaching Council’s sole approach to managing the Chief Executive’s conflict in relation to Clemenger was to exclude her from any procurement and contract management process. This was an overly simplistic approach and not sufficient to manage the Chief Executive’s conflict of interest. In particular, very little was done to manage the considerable perception risks arising from the conflict. To the contrary those risks were exacerbated markedly by poor procurement practices as

set out below,” the report said.

It said Hoskin did not declare her husband’s shareholding in Clemenger which created a financial interest in a company that benefited from contracts with the council.

“The Chief Executive did not disclose her husband’s shareholding to the Chair of the Governing Council, or to senior leaders managing contracts with Clemenger beyond the verbal declaration to Deputy Chief Executive A in 2018. While the Chief Executive reliably disclosed the conflict created by her husband’s position, her omission of the shareholding interest showed a lack of understanding of the nature of conflicts.”

RNZ has approached the Teaching Council for comment.

Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche said the report painted a concerning picture about the council.

“The Council is responsible for upholding high professional standards for teachers,” he said.

“It must also meet the highest standards itself. In this case, basic public sector expectations were not met, and in some areas the Council fell well short.

“These shortcomings created avoidable organisational and reputational risks and have the potential to undermine trust in the Teaching Council.”

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/17/teaching-council-fell-short-in-managing-conflicts-of-interest-investigation-finds/