Crash blocks SH1 northbound near Tawa, drivers urged to avoid area
One person is seriously injured following a crash near Tawa, north of Wellington. Crash blocks SH1 northbound near Tawa, drivers urged to avoid areaOne person is seriously injured following a crash near Tawa, north of Wellington. One person is seriously injured following a crash near Tawa, north of Wellington. Police said the northbound Tawa on-ramp is closed while staff work at the scene of the crash. SH1 is closed northbound until the Keneperu on-ramp, where traffic is then able to rejoin the motorway.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 22:52 UTC
Brian Tamaki-linked group confronts Sikh parade in South Auckland
Members who appear to be part of the group True Patriots of NZ performed a haka and shouted "One true God" while being separated from the Sikh marchers. Video / Brian TamakiA Sikh parade in South Auckland this afternoon has been disrupted by protesters linked to Brian Tamaki and Destiny Church. In a video posted to Tamaki’s social media pages, True Patriots of NZconfront the Sikh group as they are walking down a street, with police separating both sides. True Patriots of NZ describes themselves as “Guardians of the Kiwi Way of Life. They stand against “globalism, mass immigration, and woke ideology.”In the video True Patriots of NZ approach the Sikh group, wearing primarily blue shirts with slogans such as “Kiwis first”, “Keep NZ, NZ” and “True patriot”, alongside a large banner saying “This is New Zealand not India.”
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 22:49 UTC
General Debate 21 December 2025
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Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 22:37 UTC
Family race to give 6-year-old Frankie a lifetime of memories after cancer relapse
Photo / SuppliedThroughout her treatment, Frankie displayed remarkable strength and bravery, often surprising her parents with her resilience. After enduring an exhausting 799 days of treatment, the family celebrated a major milestone in November 2024: Frankie was officially clear of leukaemia. Jen and Paul faced the unimaginable decision to create a bucket list for Frankie, filled with experiences “every child should have”. “We’re cramming in what people fit in about 16 years of childhood into months,” Paul said. In an effort to garner support and share their journey, a Givealittle page has been set up for Frankie and her family.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 22:04 UTC
Person dies after being pulled from water near Waiotapu geothermal area
Sign in hereAccess to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Person dies after being pulled from water near Waiotapu geothermal areaA person has died after being pulled unresponsive from the water near the Waiotapu geothermal area. Police have launched an investigation into the sudden death, which is being treated as unexplained. Emergency services were called to the scene near the Waiotapu Loop Rd at around 6.15am today following reports of a sudden death. One person is assisting police as they work to determine how the person ended up in the water.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 21:50 UTC
Smooth sailing for the economy in 2026 ... we can hope!
I’ll make a few very specific forecasts further down, but first, I want to say what I really think about next year. But the immediate economic cycle seems to be turning in our direction for the first time in years. Events have a way of ruining the forecasts and predictions of the smartest and most meticulous economists. My unscientific extrapolation of this holds that the further out an economist forecasts, the less reliable the forecasts become. But numerous academic studies (and common sense) point to long-term economic forecasts not being the paper they are written on ... or the energy required to generate the pixels (or however that analogy should work these days).
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 20:36 UTC
Waikato’s Newstead Orchard: Future secured as new partner takes over operations
Her brother and head orchardist, John Woolford, was also keen for more time away from the orchard work. The future looked uncertain for Newstead Orchard, the last remaining small commercial orchard in the area. Annie Perkins tending the regenerative market garden she has established in Newstead Orchard. Photo / Catherine FryPerkins became friends with John Woolford nearly two decades ago. They are now testing the parameters of growing stone and pip fruit organically and sustainably at Newstead Orchard.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 20:34 UTC
Are robots the answer to the looming aged-care crisis?
Could robots with the ability to perform everyday personal and household tasks help meet some of those needs? Robots have some distinct advantages, robot designer Rich Walker told RNZ from London - but there's some challenges and hurdles to overcome, and some big ethical considerations. Photo: Charles GervaisIn Japan, robots have been used in aged care facilities for more than a decade. Some areas of human capability and some tasks are particularly difficult for robots - controlled and measured touch is at the top of the list. Designs to meet real needsWhen parsing out the needs of aged care there have also been some big surprises, Walker says.
Source:Otago Daily Times
December 20, 2025 20:16 UTC
NZ's top cop to patrol the streets on New Year's Eve to honour slain officer
Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming would not see the dawn of 2025. Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming. Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming, 62, and Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay were foot patrolling the area when a vehicle driven by a member of the public drove towards them at speed. Police Commissioner Richard Chambers fronting a press conference hours after his colleague Lyn fleming was killed on duty. Hayden Donald Jason Tasker has been charged with murdering Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 19:45 UTC
501 deportee Mana Herman stabbed Hastings motorist in the neck
A “scuffle ensued” and Herman picked a fight, but the other man began to get the better of him. Herman then reached for a sharp object after finding himself in a headlock and “losing a fight of his own making”. The stabbing: A gross overreactionJustice David Boldt said Herman found the unidentified sharp object in the back of his vehicle. The object Herman used in the stabbing was never recovered, but was described by the original sentencing judge as “potentially lethal”. Herman has clocked up another 20 convictions since returning to New Zealand, including for wounding with intent, assault with intent to injure and possessing an offensive weapon.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 19:32 UTC
Why David Seymour decided being himself was worth the risk – Ask Me Anything with Paula Bennett
You might as well be who you are.”Seymour says the pressure to conform is often driven by fear of judgment, particularly in public life. “If you never want to be accused of thinking you’re too smart or being a smart arse, then there’s an easy way to avoid those accusations,” he says. “She was told that she’d never have children, that she’d never drive, that she’d never have a job or go to university,” he says. “It’s not what happens to you in life, it’s how you deal with it,” Seymour says. You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 19:32 UTC
Police look for second man following double homicide
Mitchell Cole. Photo: Supplied / NZ PolicePolice say they are looking to identify a second man as part of the Ruatiti homicide investigation, as the hunt for Mitchell Cole continues. Friends of sheep farmer Brendon Cole and wife Trina said they were found dead at their Murumuru Road property on 13 December. Son Mitchell Cole, 29, has been named as a person of interest by police. Police also want to speak with anyone who was in or around Ruatiti Road at the time.
Source:Otago Daily Times
December 20, 2025 19:24 UTC
Michael Bryant claims $91k prosecution over unconsented building work at Bay of Plenty property was ‘overcooked’
Bryant accepted “that doesn’t make it right”, and he shouldn’t have undertaken unconsented work, but felt it did not warrant such a costly prosecution. The summary of facts detailed the unconsented building work included the garage, the cabana, and a separate structure that housed a temporary sauna and had an outdoor shower. In a statement, Steve Pearce, head of building services at the Tauranga City Council, accepted prosecutions can be a “reasonably significant cost to the council”. “However, the council can confirm that this was not the first time the council has investigated Mr Bryant in respect of unconsented building work,” he said. Pearce said the council rejected the suggestion that it had unfairly “targeted” Bryant or that the prosecution was “overcooked”.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 19:13 UTC
Letters: The threat of extremism in our society
Social media for kidsIn her opinion column, Parents, not apps, will police ban (December 14), Heather du Plessis-Allan commented on the Australian Government’s under-16 social media ban that came into force on December 10. Hopefully, New Zealand will learn from this and follow Australia’s lead in banning social media for under-16s, just as we did with banning phones in schools. Sentences must fit crimeI totally agree with Emma MacIntosh, (letters, December 20), regarding Jevon McSkimming’s sentence. Sanctioned oilWill US President Donald Trump be fair and even-handed by applying the same response to sanctioned Russian oil as he has in regards to sanctioned Venezuelan oil? Will tankers carrying sanctioned Russian oil also be seized, thereby limiting that country’s ability to wage war in Ukraine?
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 19:01 UTC
Pastures Past: Christmas dinner prices, from luxury lamb to ration book butter
New Zealand lamb will be on the table next Christmas Day in many homes in the Old Country, in response to the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board’s recent offer to forward single carcases of prime New Zealand lamb as Christmas presents to friends in Great Britain. Lamb promises to be very much of a luxury at Christmas time this year, and no doubt many households will have to go without their usual log of lamb for Christmas dinner. Last week the price of New Zealand lamb was advanced by 1d a pound on the London market and now the freezing buyers are offering up to 12¾d a pound for lamb. There will be an extra half-pound of butter for Christmas baking and modification in the coupon rating for the purchase of spring lamb. of butter from December 1 to 24, and consumers are to purchase this butter from their registered retailers.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 17:39 UTC