Category: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A child has been seriously injured after being hit by a car in Christchurch.

Emergency services were alerted to the crash on Ferry Road in the suburb of Woolston about 8.40am on Tuesday.

Police officers are standing guard at an address on the street.

A driveway and a Toyota Prius parked near the road have been taped off by officers.

St John sent an ambulance and a rapid response vehicle.

A spokesperson said one patient was assessed at the scene and taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Police could not confirm the child’s age.

“Police were notified of a crash involving a car and a pedestrian on Ferry Road, around 8.40am,” spokesperson said.

“The pedestrian has been transported to hospital by ambulance in serious condition. The road does not appear to be blocked.”

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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/2026/02/24/child-seriously-hurt-after-being-hit-by-car-in-christchurch-driveway/

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/24/larger-than-life-dj-mu-immortalised-in-new-wellington-mural/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Student leaders say the rising cost of living is reshaping university life – and for some, putting tertiary study out of reach altogether.

Campus groups said demand for hardship help was climbing as students struggled to cover rent, food and power while balancing study and work.

At the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association, president Aidan Donohue said usage of basic support services had surged over the past year.

“We’re seeing students need support from other avenues to make up shortfalls in income,” he said.

“Rent, power, groceries – things you can’t choose not to buy – those are the key pressures.”

The association’s free community pantry ran out of funding before the end of last year after demand exceeded projections.

Donohue said international students were among those relying heavily on food parcels, alongside increasing use of free menstrual products and discounted rubbish bags.

“By far, cost of living is the biggest issue for students. It’s ultimately what decides if someone goes to university at all – or whether they stay.

“When you compare studying with living costs and a part-time job, you’re often worse off than working full-time on minimum wage.”

At the Waikato Students’ Union, president Seamus Lohrey, 22, said the financial strain had been consistent since the pandemic but remained acute.

“More and more students now need to get a job, but they’re expected to be full-time students,” he said.

“There’s a difference between having enough money to live – and enough to actually achieve in your study.”

Lohrey, a final-year law student, said many students were juggling study and work simply to survive.

Bond payments for flats were one of the biggest immediate costs, he said.

“A cheap bond would be $700 plus. For someone who’s meant to be a full-time student, that’s a lot of money.”

While it was difficult to quantify because of confidentiality, Lohrey said the demand for food support on campus was also clear.

“There is an incredibly large need and desire for food, which is concerning.

“If you don’t have the foundation there – food, warmth – you can’t actually access those high-level needs.”

Scott Tambisari, president of the Student Association Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, said demand and underlying need are growing locally.

“In 2025 we supported 421 students through hardship assistance. Of these, 134 students were referred to the local Foodbank that we partner with as they also needed support for their whānau. This is lower than our 2024 figures, where we supported 701 students through hardship, including 289 Foodbank referrals.

The reduction in help was not due to reduced need, but rather funding constraints, Tambisari said.

“We did not receive dedicated hardship funding in 2025 and instead relied on remaining funding and external grants to continue supporting students”.

And for many students, the pressure is personal and immediate.

Christchurch nursing student Sarah Evans, 33, said her student allowance covers her bills “pretty much to the dollar”, leaving only a small amount each week for food, fuel and other costs.

She could earn a limited amount before her allowance was reduced, leaving little incentive to work more hours.

“I’ve got about $4 left of my student allowance after bills,” she said.

Evans said she had borrowed money from family to buy essential course equipment and sometimes struggled to afford groceries.

“Last week I didn’t actually have enough money for food, so I had to borrow $50 just to buy basics like bread and pasta.”

“You start to weigh it up and think it might actually be better to go back to work and earn a living. You want to follow a passion, but you still need to survive.”

In Auckland, 22-year-old Trinity Alp said she moved from Whangārei to study but had struggled to find part-time work.

“I’ve applied for over 60 jobs. There’s just not enough part-time work going around for students to survive.”

With rent and bills to pay, she said food often became the last priority.

“Food comes last and that’s horrible because it’s one of the main things we need to survive,” she said.

“Some weeks I’ve only got $50 to $80 left for food. You start thinking, should I just drop out?”

Tertiary Education Minister Shane Reti said the government recognised cost-of-living pressures on students.

He said most tuition costs were publicly funded, with student payments adjusted each year for inflation.

“The government also funds Student Job Search, which provides free support to assist tertiary students with finding employment,” Reti said.

“Other government funded support includes training incentives to help sole parents, carers and disabled people access tertiary education, Working for Families Tax Credits to assist families with dependent children and accommodation support which is available to student allowances recipients who are living away from home.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Development said it had added staff and temporarily extended StudyLink call centre hours to manage demand.

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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/2026/02/24/financial-pressure-reshaping-university-life-student-leaders-say/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Only a quarter of people who have cardiac arrest in the community survive the trip to hospital, according to a new report by ambulance services.

Hato Hone St John and Wellington Free Ambulance have released the latest annual Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Report, saying “out-of-hospital cardiac arrests” (OHCAs) remain a major public health challenge.

Between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025, 2466 people were treated for cardiac arrest by ambulance officers across the country – almost seven a day.

Eighty-one percent of patients received CPR from a bystander, but only six percent received treatment with a defibrillator, otherwise known as an AED.

Twenty-four percent of patients survived to hospital arrival, and only 12 percent survived a month after the event – similar numbers to previous years.

Dr Elena Garcia, deputy clinical director at St John, said making sure people received timely CPR or AED access could be the difference between life or death.

“We know that patients who have recieved community defibrillation from an AED have more than double the odds of survival, so it’s just about getting them to the patients when they need them.

“It’s about having AEDs in communities all across New Zealand, and making sure they’re truly available in terms of being open to the community, 24/7 access, and unlocked.”

They were very straightforward to use, she said – the 111 call-taker could walk someone through it, or the AED itself would have an automated voice telling the first responder where to put the stickers and which buttons to press.

Deputy chief executive for clinical services at Hato Hone St John, Jon Moores, agreed that improving community confidence and capability remained essential, along with increasing awareness of early signs of cardiac arrest and the availability of AEDs.

Inequalities for women, Māori and Pacific peoples highlighted by data

The data showed Māori and Pacific peoples tended to have cardiac arrests more often, and earlier in life, along with people living in rural and higher-deprivation communities.

Hato Hone St John’s clinical evaluation, research and insights manager, Dr Sarah Maessen, explained Māori were 1.4 times more likely to suffer cardiac arrest and faced this risk a decade earlier in life than non-Māori.

Female patients had lower odds of survival at 50 percent, and were about 60 percent less likely to receive defibrillation from another member of the public than males.

Garcia said it was possible there was a fear of removing women’s clothing, or exposing them in an inappropriate way.

“Do what you can and help the patient, because they will be very glad to survive.”

Wellington Free Ambulance executive medical director Dr Erica Douglass said it worked to train people across the Wellington region in CPR and using AEDs through The Lloyd Morrison Foundation Heartbeat CPR Training programme.

“Last year close to 10,000 people across Greater Wellington and Wairarapa learnt this lifesaving skill,” she said. “This training is free of charge thanks to cornerstone partner Julie Nevett and The Lloyd Morrison Foundation who fund this essential programme.

“The data in this report shows us the positive impact bystander CPR and AED use has for chances of survival in a sudden cardiac arrest, and we encourage everyone to undertake training, know where their closest AED is and be ready to assist if needed.”

Key facts from the report

• 72 percent of cardiac arrests happen at home, 16 percent in public areas, and 4 percent in aged care facilities
• 43 percent of out-of-hospital events were attended by at least one GoodSAM responder
• 70 percent of those patients were male
• 94 percent of cardiac events were co-responded to and attended by Fire and Emergency
• Median age of patients: Māori – 59 years; Pacific peoples – 60 years; non-Māori, non-Pacific peoples – 69 years

How can you help?

Take part in St John’s community education programme ‘[www.stjohn.org.nz/what-we-do/community-programmes/3-steps-for-life/ 3 Steps for Life]’ for one hour of free CPR and AED training.

Then sign up to [www.stjohn.org.nz/first-aid/lifesaving-apps/ GoodSAM], an app which alerts nearby people trained in CPR and defibrillation, when someone nearby is having a cardiac arrest.

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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/2026/02/24/only-a-quarter-of-cardiac-arrest-patients-survive-the-trip-to-hospital-report/

Source: Radio New Zealand

One person has died following a serious crash in the Canterbury town of Waikuku overnight.

Emergency services were called to the three-vehicle crash on Main North Road, near Tulls Road, just after 9pm on Monday.

One person died at the scene.

The road was closed while the Serious Crash Unit conducted a scene examination but has since reopened.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/24/person-dies-in-three-vehicle-canterbury-crash/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Stay clean, don’t be seen – that’s the motto of many Auckland streeties who say they already get moved on by security guards, council workers and police.

The government is giving police new powers to move on rough sleepers or people displaying disorderly behaviour in town and city centres.

Shopkeepers and business leaders wanted it and social agencies condemned it, but homeless people warned it raised the question of where they were supposed to go.

Kevin lived rough for about a decade before moving into an apartment provided by a social agency in Auckland four years ago.

He described his experience like this: “Hustle – having unidentified struggle to live equally.”

Kevin still knew many people who slept rough.

“Not all the ones want to take the cup and ask for money, some of them are just walking around town biding time looking for refuge or sanctuary of some kind, or looking for help.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon earlier said police were capable of dealing with the issues and the orders would give police another tool to address anti-social behaviour.

But the Police Association said it would be a drain on resources.

Breach an order, and it risked a fine or three month jail term.

Kevin said it should be the job of an agency already supporting rough sleepers.

“Why not another organisation because that uniform has a presentation, using that uniform and the police may not want to be doing this.”

A woman who had been homeless for just over a year in Auckland, whom RNZ agreed to keep anonymous, said there were fewer areas in the central city to hang out in.

She went by the motto – stay clean, don’t be seen.

“They have absolutely done everything in their power to move us away from the public areas, they’ve taken all the chairs, the tables, shut down the toilets so that we’re concentrated in certain areas.”

She said it was not easy getting off the streets because there was a lack of suitable housing – she preferred street life to boarding houses.

“We all recognise that we all have a lot of the same issues and we can’t reintegrate back into society because we didn’t fit there in the first place,” she said.

“So now pushing us into certain areas, not being able to be here at a certain time, you can’t lie down in Auckland city central business district at all.”

Moving someplace else would not be easy.

“The whole question in the beginning, where are we meant to go to? Where’s the designated area?

“They can try and move us on but there’s other ways around it, because we’re still able to be here, we still have nowhere else to go.”

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith’s office said police were expected to connect people given move-on orders with the support they may need.

Newmarket Business Association supported the introduction of move-on orders, as long as the problem was not shifted from street to street.

Its chief executive Mark Knoff-Thomas said businesses did need help dealing with persistent anti-social behaviour outside their premises.

Kevin has a roof over his head now, but worried about those who did not, who could be asked to move on.

“They can’t give you a home so you’re going to take your trolley and move on, go somewhere else and move on, I think this is going to happen.”

The changes proposed by government would have to go through a legislative process before coming into effect.

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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/2026/02/24/we-still-have-nowhere-else-to-go-rough-sleepers-question-polices-new-move-on-powers/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Questions are mounting over whether Wellington Electricity should compensate households hit by damaging storms, as residents count the cost of week-long power outages.

The company had hoped to restore power to all affected properties that did not need complex or private repairs on Monday night. It said remaining homes were expected to be reconnected over the next few days.

Island Bay solo mum Nicola Hill lost power early last Tuesday morning after the storm battered her home, blowing out French doors.

At first, she assumed it would be restored in a matter of hours. Instead, she and her two teenagers spent six nights without electricity.

Hill said that, with no functioning fridge, fresh food quickly spoiled.

“I’ve lost a fridge and most of a freezer full of food. So, I definitely think I probably lost about $200 in food, taking into account the extra stuff that I’ve bought, like UHT milk, just to have a little bit of milk in the morning.”

Dinners were cooked on the barbecue, when the weather allowed.

Showers were cold at home, or taken at friends’ houses, grandparents’ homes in the Hutt Valley, or at the local pool and washing was ferried between houses.

As a working parent, Hill said the outage also affected her job. She stayed home for three days expecting crews to arrive, only for no one to show.

“I’d try to work from home without a device, then use the iPad for an hour or two until the battery wound down, then go somewhere to charge it and come back,” she said.

“It really impacted my productivity.”

She described the communication from Wellington Electricity and her retailer as “not fit for purpose”.

“There were promises – four to six hours, 18 hours, everything by Friday – and by Monday I was looking at any promise with complete scepticism,” she said.

“There was over-promising and under-delivering.”

Calls for Compensation

On Friday, when about 700 homes still had no power, Wellington Electricity said it would donate $10 to KidsCan Charitable Trust for every customer who wouldn’t be reconnected that day.

Hill questioned whether a donation to charity went far enough.

“When you’re getting to one week without power? I’d be ropeable if there’s a fixed charge cost,” she said.

Just a few streets away, 71-year-old retiree Jim Waters faced a different challenge.

Waters had just been discharged from hospital after a fall – which left him with a fractured wrist in a cast – when the power to his home failed on Monday night.

By morning, he discovered the gas supply had also shut off.

“It was a nightmare,” he said.

“My cellphone was running out of battery, I had no way of recharging it, I couldn’t use internet, and they’d say, ‘follow up your query online’ – but I had no power.”

Neighbours stepped in, offering Wi-Fi access, phone charging and meals.

But by Thursday, with no clear timeline for reconnection, Waters contacted his insurer and learned that emergency accommodation might be covered.

He moved into a motel, initially for one night.

He stayed four, costing about $800, which he hopes to claim back.

“I’m on superannuation, but I’m lucky I have some savings,” he said.

Waters said he felt his isolated outage may have been deprioritised in favour of larger jobs affecting whole streets.

“You got the impression they were doing the ones that were bigger,” he said. “If they’d come and looked at mine, they could have done it rather quicker.”

Like Hill, he questioned Wellington Electricity’s pledge to donate to charity rather than compensate affected customers directly.

“It sounds wonderful, but it doesn’t help the people affected much, does it?” he said.

Both residents said the experience had shaken their confidence in the capital’s infrastructure.

“We need to have power infrastructure that survives wind,” Hill said.

“It makes me worry about what would happen in an earthquake.”

By late Monday afternoon, crews had restored power to both homes.

Wellington Electricity said it was not funded to offer compensation.

“While our tight regulation by the Commerce Commission means we’re not funded to act as an insurer or cover consequential losses, if we find our actions while restoring a customer’s power caused damage to their property, we can consider a goodwill payment. We recommend customers questions about loss of supply to their electricity retailer, and any consequential loss or damage claims to their insurers.”

The company said it understood how frustrating it was to be without power for multiple days and it was sorry work to restore power across Wellington was taking longer than expected.

“The strength of the winds and the scale of the storm damage meant the situation evolved as crews progressed. In many cases, once trees were cleared and sites made safe to work at, our crews discovered more extensive damage than was initially visible,” it said.

“As with any major event, we’ll review our response and ensure improvements are continuously applied to future event responses.”

Hundreds of Powerco Customers Still Without Power

Meanwhile, Powerco said that about 200 customers across the Whanganui, Manawatū and Wairarapa regions were without electricity on Monday night, although some outages may not be storm-related.

Crews were working through complex high-voltage faults, particularly in remote forestry areas, with the Whanganui-Rangitīkei region the hardest hit. the company said.

“Access has been a challenge, with trees down across the affected regions, and outages have been widespread and in remote locations.”

At the height of the storm, more than 25,000 properties in Whanganui-Rangitīkei, Manawatū-Tararua and Wairarapa were left without power.

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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/2026/02/24/calls-on-wellington-electricity-for-compensation-after-days-with-no-power/