Fireworks, fights and more road deaths usher in New Year

The New Year was celebrated with a carnival atmosphere in central Auckland, but drunken brawls broke out elsewhere overnight.  

The road toll for the holiday period has risen to 20, with two deaths early this morning.

Tens of thousands of people lined Auckland's Queen Street, with police diverting traffic so people could get a good spot to see fireworks blasting out from the Sky Tower.  

Auckland police were busy throughout the night, but reported no major incidents in the central city.  

The worst trouble was at Wanaka where about 500 people at the Albertown Camping Grounds turned on the police. Senior Sergeant Gavin Briggs said the trouble started mid-evening.  

He said police were called after some of the revellers began causing a bit of disorder. In total, 52 people were arrested for breaching the liquor ban and a variety of street offences, compared to 55 in 2004. Of those arrested, 80 percent were aged between 16 and 20.

There was also a large brawl involving around 40 people in Otara, in Manukau City.  

Further north, at Mangawhai, drunken youths have been fighting with knives and bottles.  

There was also fighting in Gisborne which saw at least one person knocked unconscious.  

Whangamata police said they were extremely busy, mainly dealing with breaches of the liquor ban.  

Far North Area Commander Inspector Mike Rusbatch in Paihia said things there went very well, with plenty of families celebrating but not too many people driving-drunk or causing mayhem.  

The same can be said for Taupo and also in Nelson, where thousands of teenagers have crammed into Maitai Valley Camp to see in the New Year.  

Meanwhile the holiday road toll stands as a grim reminder as New Zealand heads into 2006.  

One person was killed when a car crashed into a drain on State Highway Two near Paeroa, in Coromandel shortly before 6am. The highway is down to one lane while emergency services clear the scene.

And a male pedestrian is dead after being struck by a vehicle on State Highway Three near New Plymouth.


Three more died yesterday. A body was found near an overturned quad bike in Ruawai, near Dargaville. An off-duty fireman made the discovery about 6pm yesterday evening.  

Around the same time, a 15-year-old was hit by a car and killed near Taupo.  

And yesterday morning a woman died in Palmerston North hospital after being injured in an horrific crash on Christmas Day, which had earlier claimed the life of an 83-year-old man. 

- NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA