An infestation of rats at a Dunedin supermarket prompted an investigation by food safety officials in January.
Woolworths New Zealand confirmed an increase in “pest activity” at its Countdown Dunedin South store, with a pest control contractor making daily visits to the Andersons Bay Rd premises.
The supermarket ramped up its cleaning procedures, bolstered by “further deep cleaning” with additional bait stations placed on-site to counter the rat rampage.
An employee told the Otago Daily Times a handful of rats were first detected inside the store in October. Since then, they had multiplied and by January that supermarket was “infested”.
On February 9, Woolworths director of stores Jason Stockill said the supermarket would close for 48 hours after more rats were trapped in-store.
Woolworths New Zealand confirmed this photo of a rat, reflected in a mirror in the deli section, was taken at its Dunedin South Countdown supermarket. Photo / Supplied
“Our local community will be aware that we’ve been working to address a rodent issue at Countdown Dunedin South for the last couple of months. Food safety is our absolute priority and we have been working closely with the Ministry for Primary Industries’ [MPI] NZ Food Safety division and our pest control contractor Rentokil,” he said.
“We believed we had addressed the issue, as there had been no evidence of rodent activity since January 28. Unfortunately we have caught four rodents over the last few days, so it is clear we have more work to do.”
The following Monday it was announced the supermarket would remain closed a further 24 hours after pest controllers trapped close to 20 more rats. It came as a new video showed a mouse scurrying across uncovered salad at Christchurch’s Eastgate Countdown.
On February 13, two more rats were caught in the store, forcing it to stay shut — by which point it would have been six days straight that the store had been closed.
Stockill said the store would remain closed until 48 hours had passed without a rat caught inside.
In April, another two rats were captured in the store, but New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said it was satisfied Woolworths had continued to focus on its pest management.
A food compliance officer continued to monitor the pest control efforts during visits to the supermarket, he said.
“It’s important to note that given the size and nature of supermarkets, rodents can enter and leave them from time to time,” he said.
“Stores generally do not need to close each time, as long as the issue is dealt with promptly and in a way that minimises food safety risk.”
Collins, a married father of two who was raised in Ōtara, collapsed at the event, which was to support communities in the Pacific.
The funeral for Fa’anānā Efeso Collins at the Due Drop Events Centre in Manukau. Photo / Michael Craig
At his funeral on February 29, Collins was remembered by his widow and daughters as an “extraordinary man” who was the “anchor of our tight-knit family”.
Newshub closes, TVNZ proposes cuts
On February 28, Warner Bros Discovery announced its intention to shut down its Newshub newsroom operations from June 30.
Warner Bros Discovery Asia Pacific president James Gibbons said the move was a result of negative events in New Zealand and globally and “the impacts of the economic downturn had been severe”.
In March, TVNZ proposed to cut 68 jobs — 9% of its total staff — as it grappled with falling ad revenue and an increasingly fragmented media market.
In a statement, the company’s chief executive Jodi O’Donnell blamed “tough economic conditions and structural challenges” for the proposed cuts, which she said were necessary to keep the business sustainable.
TVNZ staff rallied outside the broadcaster’s Auckland headquarters to protest the plans, presenting an open letter to the company with more than 11,000 signatures.
Staff and supporters wore orange and held signs with the words “Save our Stories” on them.
Miriama Kamo, veteran broadcaster and host of Sunday, addressed the crowd and noted the rally was not just about the loss of jobs, but the “greater grief” journalists were feeling about the “disintegration” of the industry.
In April, Warner Bros Discovery confirmed its plans to shut down Newshub, including its website and all TV news shows, by July 5 - resulting in the loss of 294 jobs.
Journalist Patrick Gower was among seven senior Newshub journalists who pushed back against the company’s proposal and put forward their own plan.
The proposal, led by fellow journalist Michael Morrah, was “radical”, “aggressive” and would have pared the news operation back to the bone, he said.
While management gave them access to figures and helped them in other ways, they ultimately decided not to go ahead with the proposal.
A new version of the 6pm bulletin — a joint venture by Stuff and Three called ThreeNews — went to air on July 9.
In November, TVNZ announced plans to axe 50 roles in order to save $30 million, a proposal that included reducing the number of presenters on Breakfast from four to two, and reducing the number of sports presenters for the 6pm bulletins.
The following month the network confirmed sports presenter Hayley Holt and Breakfast presenter Anna Burns-Francis had both chosen to move on from their roles amid the restructure.
Meanwhile, The Spinoff issued an open letter at the end of November outlining the financial predicament of the platform, with founder Duncan Grieve telling RNZ there was “no plan B” to save the website if an attempt to dramatically increase the number of paying supporters was not successful.
The outlet had already disestablished three full-time roles and one part-time.
In its letter, The Spinoff said revenue would normally come from three main sources: advertising and commercial partnerships, audience contribution and funding from NZ on Air but “two of those buckets have been leaking hard lately”.
Power pylon collapse causes major outage
A massive power outage across most of Northland resulted in tens of thousands of properties being cut off, after a Transpower tower fell near Glorit on June 20.
Northpower said in a statement that 65,000 of the properties it supplied had been affected, while the other lines company Top Energy had 30,000 affected customers.
Transpower staff prepare to install a temporary tower for part transfer of the electricity supply into Northland after the sudden collapse of a pylon a few days earlier. Photo / Transpower
In August, an independent report found contractor error was to blame for the collapse of the power pylon.
It said a relatively inexperienced and inadequately supervised worker removed nuts from three of the four legs of the pylon, compromising its stability and causing it to rupture and fall.
Lauren Dickason sentenced for murdering three daughters
In June, Lauren Dickason was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the 2021 murders of her three young daughters in their Timaru home.
The 43-year-old had pleaded not guilty to all three murder charges, her legal team mounting a defence based on insanity and infanticide.
Lauren Dickason appears for sentencing in the High Court at Christchurch for the murder of her three children. Photo / Pool
But a jury in 2023 found she had murdered her daughters — Karla, Maya and Liané — on September 16, 2021.
In handing down his sentence in the High Court at Christchurch, Justice Cameron Mander imposed no minimum non-parole period, saying Dickason’s mental illness was not only a contributing factor to her actions, but the cause.
Almost 2000 jobs across 19 departments had already been disestablished, or soon would be.
By December that number was well over 9000.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said she was confident the Government would save far more by cutting jobs than it would pay out in redundancies.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has emphasised the budget savings of job cuts amid criticism of their social impact. Photo / Mark Mitchell
In late November, staff at the National Public Health Service were told their jobs were on the line — the same day public health officials announced a whooping cough epidemic.
The Public Service Association said 1120 jobs would go from Te Whatu Ora’s data and digital team (47% of the workforce) and 358 from the National Public Health Service roles (24%).
However, Te Whatu Ora disputed the number of roles that would go in the National Public Health Service, saying the proposed net loss was actually 57. The PSA said its figures included about 300 vacant roles that had been budgeted for but were proposed to be cut.
Until October 7, Phillips and his children had not been seen together since December 12, 2021.
A frame from a video featuring a group with camouflage clothing and backpacks, conjectured to be Marokopa father Tom Phillips and children Jayda (11), Maverick (9) and Ember (8).
A video captured by hunters north of Awamarino in October showed a man followed by three children in wet-weather gear carrying camouflaged backpacks. The group could be seen trekking through rough, overgrown terrain before disappearing behind a hill.
The children’s mother, known as Cat, says she actually spotted Phillips at Bunnings last year, recognising him as she walked past a ute in Hamilton.
Phillips had returned home to his parents’ house a year earlier, but this was the first public sighting since February 2022.
Cat believes Phillips recognised her, drove off and she gave chase. When they stopped at a red light she took images of the ute and thought about getting out — but was worried it might instead be a member of the public.
She says she continued to follow Phillips but he cut in front of a bus and turned down a side street, where she lost him. She pulled over and called the police immediately about the sighting.
Cat said the ute belonged to an associate of Phillips and she believes it was only reported stolen after the sighting.
She believes Tom Phillips is being helped and has a message for his supporters. “My babies deserve better, it’s beyond time that they come home and supporting Thomas is essentially supporting child abuse because that’s what it is. There’s no beating around the bush. None of this is ok.”
An undated photo of Maverick Phillips, Jayda Phillips and Ember Phillips with their mother Cat. Photo / Supplied
In October the detective spearheading the search, Acting Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders, said he believes Phillips’ main motive for taking his children is the fact he no longer has legal custody.
During the first disappearance, Saunders said police did not consider custody was the likely motive.
“When Tom went missing, he had lawful custody of the children.”
Saunders said police now believe it’s possible Phillips used his first disappearance as a preparation for his next.
“Yes, it certainly that goes into our thinking that that could have been a warm-up to what he has done now.”
Phillips was charged with wasteful deployment of police resources but failed to turn up to his court appearance and once again, disappeared into the bush with his three children.
“Once he failed to appear in court on what he had been charged with, and that’s obviously after the current disappearance ... a warrant to arrest was issued.”
Saunders revealed Phillips no longer has custody of the children. Custody now sits with Oranga Tamariki and they have made arrangements for when the children are located as to where they will go.
He had been in hospital recovering from heart surgery.
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII. Photo / Waikato Tainui
He died “peacefully” on August 30, surrounded by his wife Makau Ariki and their children Whatumoana, Korotangi and Nga wai hono i te po, according to a statement released at the time.
“The death of Kiingi Tuheitia is a moment of great sadness for followers of Te Kiingitanga, Maaoridom and the entire nation.”
“The funeral represents the last moment where Kiingi Tuheitia the person becomes Kiingi Tuheitia the ancestor,” Kiingitanga chief of staff Ngira Simmonds said.
“It’s a transition from the physical realm to the spiritual realm. It’s steeped in tradition that is time immemorial. All of the aspects of the funeral rites come from the teachings of the king’s ancestors.”
Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po Pootatau Te Wherowhero VIII.
Kuini Nga wai hono i te po is the eighth Māori monarch and the second woman in the role. The first to hold the position was Kīngi Tuheitia’s mother, Te Atairangikaahu, who died in 2006. And at 27, Kuini Nga wai hono i te po is also the second-youngest Māori monarch to be appointed.
‘Potentially lethal’ meth lollies distributed in food parcels
The mission was alerted when a parcel recipient reported “funny tasting” lollies, and missioner Helen Robinson said she was “absolutely devastated” by the turn of events.
Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin holds up a photo of the Rinda-branded, meth-laced lollies found in food parcels given to needy families. Photo / Alex Burton
The Drug Foundation said a lolly checked contained 3g of meth - a “potentially lethal dose”.
Within two days, police had found 29 of the methamphetamine “lollies”, hidden in Rinda brand lolly wrappers, which were seemingly donated to the City Mission before being mailed around the city.
Three people required treatment in hospital after consuming the “lollies” — two of them children — and police said another child was taken for precautionary medical checks after tasting the lolly.
Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin also confirmed police were aware of a Facebook Marketplace listing by an Aucklander claiming to have one of the sweets and reminded those behind it “dealing a class A drug is a serious offence, and we will not tolerate this”.
Floods drive people from homes, block roads in Otago
Some residents lost power due to flooding and slips, and water was cut off after a water main burst.
Evacuation centres were set up at Forsyth Barr Stadium and East Otago Events Centre.
A red heavy rain warning was lifted at 8pm the following day.
Navy ship runs aground in Samoa
The HMNZS Manawanui — a specialist dive and hydrographic vessel — was conducting a reef survey off the south coast of Upolu in Samoa, when it hit a reef on October 5.
Seventy-five crew and passengers were taken off the vessel by life rafts and other boats that came to the rescue.
The stricken HMNZS Manawanui off the coast of Samoa. Photo / Profile Boats
The ship caught fire and sank the following morning after a successful rescue, with three on board requiring hospital treatment.
An interim report released in late November blamed the sinking on “human error” where the ship’s autopilot was not disengaged when it should have been.
“The crew did not realise Manawanui remained in autopilot and, as a consequence, mistakenly believed its failure to respond to direction changes was the result of a thruster control failure.”
Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Garin Golding, said “standard procedures” should have prompted the ship’s crew to check the vessel was under manual control, rather than autopilot.
“This check did not occur. Remaining in autopilot resulted in the ship maintaining a course toward land, until grounding and eventually stranding.”
Golding said why this had happened and what would come next were still being worked on as part of the wider Court of Inquiry, expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.
In December, villagers near the site of the sinking told the ABC diesel comes in with the tide and they can “still smell the fuel”.
The introduction of the Treaty Principles Bill prompted protest around the country and triggered an urgent Waitangi Tribunal report.
Various groups came out in strident opposition, including lawyers, historians, translators and churches.
The bill brings to life Act Party policy, to enshrine what the Treaty means into law. The party has long argued the original articles have been interpreted by the courts, the Waitangi Tribunal and successive governments — over decades — in a way that has amplified their significance and influence beyond the original intent.
Act leader David Seymour's contentious Treaty Principles Bill passed its first vote. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The proposed bill, and the referendum it would trigger if passed, were at the heart of the party’s post-election negotiations with the National Party last year. In the end, Act secured a commitment to get the bill as far as select committee — but no further. This was a concession neither party was happy about, an uneasy compromise, and one proving increasingly problematic for National and its leader Christopher Luxon.
A nine-day hīkoi protesting the bill began in the Far North on November 11, making its way to Wellington and arriving on the grounds of Parliament on November 19.
Hīkoi mō te Tiriti was billed as both a march against the Government’s policies affecting Māori, and for tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty, self-determination).
At the centre of concerns was the Act Party’s bill, which Luxon has repeatedly said will not pass a second reading. But for those joining the hīkoi, the bill had already hurt the Treaty relationship and could undermine decades of progress.
Hīkoi mō te Tiriti crosses the Auckland Harbour Bridge into Auckland city centre. Photo / Michael Craig
It is just one in a series of government policies that made many Māori uneasy, but had also drawn people together.
RNZ reporters at the scene said the bridge began to rock under their feet as the wind picked up.
Hīkoi mō te Tiriti outside Parliament in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
By the time the hīkoi reached Parliament more than 42,000 people were gathered, with organiser Eru Kapa-Kingi telling the crowd the “Māori nation has been born” and that “Te Tiriti is forever”.
Haka interrupts Parliament vote for Treaty Principles Bill
A haka led by Te Pāti Māori interrupted voting for the Treaty Principles Bill in Parliament on November 14.
Opposition MPs and the public gallery stood to perform Ka Mate, after Hauraki Waikato MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke stood to deliver her Te Pāti Māori’s vote against the bill.
The Speaker, Gerry Brownlee, who had expressed his lack of patience with a number of MPs for their interjections throughout the afternoon, suspended the sitting until the bells next ring.
Maipi-Clarke said upon exiting the House there was definitely a moment of, “Wait ... what did we just do?”
But in the face of criticism, she said to perform the haka in Parliament was actually “best place, best timing”.
“It was bound to happen and, again ... it wasn’t even about me. It was about those 500 ancestors who signed that Treaty and they were like, ‘Nah, that’s enough‘.”
Seymour, however, believed the incident had made New Zealand look bad on the world stage.
Chinese national Tingjun Cao was found guilty of murdering Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao by a High Court jury in December.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours after a seven-week trial, during which Cao sacked his defence lawyers and represented himself with the help of a trio of interpreters.
Yanfei Bao had been missing since July 19. Photo / Supplied
He did not react to the verdict and stood in the dock staring ahead with his hands clasped behind his back.
“You might want to get a refund on that plane ticket you scumbag,” Bao’s partner Paul Gooch said from the public gallery.
Cao will be sentenced next year.
The Crown had argued Bao, 44, disappeared on July 19, 2023 while showing the Trevor St house to Cao.
Her husband reported her missing that night and her cellphone was found in grass on the side of the southern motorway on 21 July.
Cao, 53, who arrived in New Zealand months before Bao’s murder, was arrested at Christchurch Airport with a one-way ticket to Shanghai days after her disappearance.
Tingjun Cao during his trial at the High Court in Christchurch. Photo / Pool
He was initially charged with Bao’s kidnapping but two days later, police said they did not believe the mother-of-one was alive and detectives launched a homicide investigation.
Cao was charged with Yanfei Bao’s murder in September 2023, to which he pleaded not guilty. A kidnapping charge was later dropped.
Bao lived in Christchurch with Gooch and her daughter, who was 9 when Bao disappeared.
Her body was found on July 31 this year — just over a year after her disappearance — buried in a shallow grave along a treeline on a Greenpark farm.
