Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

Emergency services are responding to a helicopter crash in the Paekākāriki Hill area, north of Wellington.

Police said they were notified at 7.30am by an activation of an automated crash alert.

Maritime NZ’s Rescue Coordination Centre is coordinating the search efforts. It told RNZ search efforts in the area were “ongoing”.

A spokesperson said two rescue helicopters and police were at the scene, and support from Fire and Emergency was being organised.

Fire and Emergency said it had sent one crew from Porirua to assist the police.

Currently, two helicopters appear to be flying search patterns in the area.

More to come…

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/01/28/emergency-services-rush-to-helicopter-crash-in-paekakariki-hill/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Explainer – A series of unprovoked attacks on Auckland public transport – including a fatal stabbing last month – have raised concerns about the safety of riders and drivers in Aotearoa’s biggest city.

Auckland Transport says the vast majority of public transport goes by without incident, and it has set up a variety of public safety measures.

What can people do if they’re worried about their own safety on public transport? Here’s what you need to know.

What’s been happening on Auckland public transport?

From January to December 2025, there were 2161 reported incidents of “aggression, violence, racism, discrimination, and inappropriate behaviour” on Auckland public transport, said Auckland Transport’s Director of Public Transport and Active Modes, Stacey van der Putten.

“The number of reported cases fluctuates across the months, ranging from a low of 84 cases in December 2025 to a peak of 249 cases in March 2025,” she said.

The rough average from those numbers would work out to about six reported incidents per day in 2025.

There have been several violent incidents on or around Auckland transport in recent weeks. A passenger suffered moderate injuries in an apparently unprovoked attack by a group of people earlier this month, while a young woman was arrested after two people were assaulted at a bus station in Ōrewa. A 32-year-old man was also arrested after a bus driver was allegedly sprayed with a fire extinguisher in Auckland on 13 January.

Some attacks in the past few years have been fatal.

On 8 December, a 59-year-old was fatally stabbed on a bus travelling from Glen Innes towards Ōrakei in East Auckland. Another man, 41, was seriously injured after boarding the same bus a short time later. A suspect has since been arrested.

In October 2024, an Auckland woman was stabbed to death on a bus in Onehunga and a 16-year-old was charged with murder after another fatal attack at an Albany bus station in 2023, while an American PhD student died after an assault while waiting at a Meadowbank bus stop in April 2025.

“We are very, very concerned about those specific incidents,” NZ Police Inspector Charles Ip, the area prevention manager for Auckland City East, told RNZ.

“The commissioner has made it quite clear for us as an organisation to ensure that everyone in New Zealand is safe and they feel safe.”

Is violence actually getting worse? Are buses safe?

With schools restarting and the traditional “March madness” traffic surge soon to begin, Auckland’s public transport numbers will be on the rise.

“Public transport is safe,” van der Putten said. “These incidents are an absolute minority; it is important to remember that last week Aucklanders took around 1.8 million public transport trips, with the vast majority having safe, comfortable, and enjoyable journeys.”

AT’s data showed that March 2025 was the peak month last year for incidents, at 249, while only 84 incidents were reported in December.

Van der Putten said that data is based on reports from the public.

“This data is based solely on public submissions and may include subjective or anecdotal accounts. As such, they represent perceived incidents rather than confirmed legal breaches or verified violations of operational policy.”

According to AT, there were also slightly fewer assaults against public transport drivers from 2024 to 2025, down from 60 to 55, although December 2025’s numbers are not yet included in that total.

“This is largely driven through the rollout of bus driver safety screens, with over 650 buses now having them installed,” van der Putten said.

Police are working hand in hand with AT to address the issues.

“We’re also working very, very hard with our partner agencies such as the local council and AT to do everything that we can to understand what we are facing and how we work together to reduce as much of these incidents as we can,” Ip said.

“The nature of these incidents appears to reflect broader trends in society as many cities have seen violence rise in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, amid wider social pressures and economic strain,” van der Putten said.

What public safety measures are being taken?

Auckland Transport has a page on its website with resources to improve safety.

AT is “continuously monitoring and adapting our strategies to prevent harm and respond” when incidents happen, van der Putten said.

People can report dangerous or threatening behaviour immediately by:

“Our awareness of incidents is increasing as we’ve made it easier for customers to report their experience through to us,” van der Putten said.

There are also bright orange “safety points” at every major bus, train and ferry terminal. The help button on them will connect people to the Auckland Transport Operations Centre which operates 24 hours a day. It won’t connect directly to emergency services so if people are in immediate danger they should contact 111.

AT said it has seen a “moderate” increase in safety point usage and has also launched a public awareness campaign to draw more attention to them.

[embedded content]

There are red emergency buttons on trains which immediately alert the driver to incidents on board.

Auckland Transport also has more than 4800 CCTV cameras in place around the city which are monitored from the operations centre.

There are also a total of 54 Auckland Transport Officers and six supervisors who monitor buses, trains and ferries.

“They are trained in self-awareness, situational awareness, incident management and de-escalation and tactical communication techniques,” van der Putten said.

They also are trained to escalate incidents to NZ Police but not physically intervene.

“We will be there at the earliest opportunity,” Ip said.

Police do not patrol buses and trains on a regular basis.

“We can’t be there on every single bus, it’s just not feasible,” Ip said.

The transport officers get a comprehensive six-week induction course supplemented through ongoing mentored field training, van der Putten said.

“We can confidently say, addressing these complexities has proven challenging across all sectors and takes a collective approach, working with police, other agencies, and communities.”

Should I be worried about getting on a bus? What can the public do?

“Our recommendation is that everyone stay vigilant regardless of how they move around our city and communities,” van der Putten said.

“Stay aware of your surroundings, secure your belongings, and know how to get help when needed.”

“Trust your gut feeling,” Ip said. Avoid confrontations if you can or try to move away or get off the public transport, he said.

“The key is to try to de-escalate, not to increase the risk to your personal safety.”

Basic safety tips like keeping valuables out of sight and avoiding being too distracted by your headphones also is important, van der Putten said.

If a violent incident is unfolding in front of you while on a bus or train, keep calm, Ip said, and contact police as soon as you can when it’s safe to do so.

“I think the main message that we want to get out there is that whilst reporting an incident is important, nothing is as important as your safety, everyone’s safety.”

It’s also important that friends or family generally know where and when you are travelling, and you have access to a phone for emergencies.

If you’re a tourist, you should be aware of how to contact New Zealand authorities using 111.

If you’re travelling alone and have concerns, staying in visible lighting, with people around you if possible, or sitting close to the driver can also help.

“Just trying to be more visible in terms of where you are is actually quite important,” Ip said.

It’s going to be a big year for Auckland Transport with the upcoming $5.5 billion City Rail Link opening, and van der Putten said the agency is well positioned for it.

“We have developed extensive training and development programmes for our network staff, including transport officers, security and customer service teams, control centre operators.

“These initiatives aim to enhance monitoring, increase visibility, bolster security, and ensure a rapid response to incidents from the very first day.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/01/28/bus-attacks-how-to-stay-safe-on-auckland-transport/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A store owner says he cannot understand why NZ Post plans to close his store’s postal service.

This week, NZ Post confirmed it would be removing 142 partner stores, like convenience stores and pharmacies that also offer postal services, by the end of the year.

The state-owned company said 567 post shops would remain open nationwide and rural post shops would not be affected.

For Te Kauwhata residents, that means their only post shop will be gone.

Manjit Singh said his small convenience store in the rural Waikato town runs a postal service which is regularly used by residents.

“It doesn’t make sense to me at all,” he told Morning Report.

“Right opposite my shop, there’s an old-age home, and people quite enjoy our service.

“They will have to go to Huntly or Pukekohe.”

The next closest postal store is more than 15 kilometres away along State Highway 1.

Singh said he had not observed a decline in people using his store’s postal service, which he ran as a side business to his convenience store.

“It would be really inconvenient for people if we aren’t there.”

He said NZ Post had told him it would be updating him on its future with the store later this year.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/01/28/waikato-business-owner-mystified-by-nz-post-closure-decision/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland Council says using AI to help sort through bins will make the region’s rubbish management more cost-effective.

Almost a third of Auckland’s recycling now ends up in landfill, and the council said it was costing ratepayers about $3.5 million a year.

Auckland Council general waste manager Justine Hayes said that people putting the wrong items in the recycling bin was a big problem.

“We are getting rubbish in the recycling bins, which essentially means that the sorting process takes longer, and we have to pay to dispose of that rubbish in a landfill rather than recycling it.

“We’re seeing people bagging recyclable items that unfortunately end up going into the rubbish, and nappies and soft plastics are unfortunately a common find in recycling bins.”

Hayes said the council conducting inspections and giving warning notices before confiscating bins, had been effective, but the new AI technology they had started using would speed up this process.

“AI is being trialled to see whether we can monitor the recycling that’s coming into the truck. Through the use of AI, we can pick up the contamination as it enters the truck instead of having to inspect every bin manually.”

She said the AI technology would help them focus on areas where rubbish contamination was highest.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/01/28/auckland-council-turns-to-ai-to-cut-cost-of-residents-recycling-errors/

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Jeremy Parkinson, First Up Producer

The Auckland Anniversary floods of January 2023 devastated much of the North Shore’s Wairau Valley. Particularly badly hit were the suburbs of Milford, Sunnynook, Forrest Hill, and Totara Vale. In Milford alone, 150 houses were classified as Category 3, land now considered to be too dangerous to live on.

Three years later, the community is working together to redesign the increasingly empty streets, and to turn the Wairau creek catchment into something that locals will treasure rather than fear.

Before the 1960s, flooding was common along Milford’s Nile Road. Two major floods, in 1928 and 1953, prompted the former Takapuna City Council to seek ways to tame the creek that drains the Wairau Valley.

Longtime resident Sean D’Souza, who lives near Nile Road, said he understood much of the area “was always muddy, always filled with water”, before modern development.

In the mid-1960s, a network of concrete stormwater culverts was built to channel water parallel to Wairau Road. The system begins near the Northern Motorway north of Tristram Avenue and winds down through the valley toward Milford, where Wairau Creek meets its outlet near the shops two kilometres away. The construction appeared to solve flooding problems and opened the area to commercial and residential expansion.

On Auckland Anniversary Day 2023, the city endured a record deluge of around 245 millimetres in 24 hours. The Wairau culvert system from Target Road through to Milford was overwhelmed. Floodwaters surged through homes, businesses, and properties. Two men lost their lives, and more than 250 homes across the Wairau Valley and nearby suburbs were red or yellow stickered as unsafe.

By late 2025, over 150 properties in Milford had been purchased by Auckland Council. Roughly 45 Category 3 houses had already been removed or demolished, leaving wide stretches of cleared land where neighbourhoods once stood.

The Milford Residents Association, led by co-chair Debbie Dunsford, consulted locals about the future of the cleared areas.

“We’ve probably spoken to or engaged with about 500 people over some months last year, and quite a few themes have come out, and the big one is the idea of a blue-green network with paths and cycleway and little bits of park and community activities running alongside or close to the stream,” Dunsford said.

Locals envisioned an interconnected corridor that improved safety while enhancing the area’s liveability.

In a statement to First Up, Auckland Council’s group recovery manager, Mace Ward, said the approach was about recovery and redesign, not merely repair.

“What we’re doing in Milford is about making the area safer from future flooding and creating a place the community can enjoy and feel proud of,” he said.

Some of the Category 3 land was expected to become part of a blue-green network to allow water to flow more naturally during heavy rain, framed by public green spaces.

The Ngā Wairau Flood Resilience Project, the council’s long-term plan, would be delivered in phases. The first stage involves reshaping nearby parkland, which is currently the home to the Takapuna Golf Course, to store floodwaters diverted from the Wairau culvert system, reducing pressure on the main channel.

Work is due to begin in 2027, with funding in place both for phase one of the project and for the property removals in the Wairau catchment.

Uncertainty over future

For residents still living near the creek, uncertainty remained. Large tracts of bare land were now scattered through Milford and the valley. Some wondered if rebuilding could occur on higher ground once flood mitigation was complete, while others urged caution.

“Well, I hope there’s no building there, because if flooding happens again, something has to go higher. But if replacements are built at higher elevations, that makes sense,” said D’Souza.

He believed significant engineering work was needed to widen and strengthen the waterway. “If they don’t open it up or find more room for water to get through, it’s going to come onto properties. Water is unstoppable.”

Still, he favoured patience over haste. “It’s not going to flood every day, it’s not going to flood every year, I don’t see the need to rush through the decision making. But there needs to be clarity.”

The council still seemed to be figuring out what to do, he added.

Neighbouring resident Graeme Treeby agreed the future vision was promising, though funding remained uncertain. “I’m kind of more excited about perhaps the bolder plan of widening the creek, of having walkways and cycleways along there as far as it will go,” he said.

Despite some frustration about slow progress, optimism persisted that something positive could emerge from the devastation. Dunsford, representing the Milford Residents Association, believed the transformation could ultimately enhance local life.

“There will be an opportunity to have open space that the public can use on a daily basis and the sort of recreation of that stream, a naturalised stream we are hoping for and something that does become a local treasure.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/01/28/wairau-valley-regeneration-has-potential-to-become-local-treasure/