Author: MIL OSI Publisher

Source: Auckland Council

A popular Muriwai tourist attraction has reopened in time for the summer bird nesting season, allowing visitors once again to view a majestic seabird colony of gannets as they gather at Auckland’s west coast.  

Following an extended closure due to significant storm damage in early 2023, the Maukatia Gannet Track and access to the Takapu Refuge / Gannet Colony at Ōtakamiro Point in Muriwai has now been restored.

Access to viewing points in the Muriwai Regional Park, positioned above the gannets nesting site, reopened on 20 December 2024.

Regional Parks Western Principal Ranger Dave Markham says recent geo-technical reports and engineer feedback have confirmed the area is now safe for pedestrians to return. He tempers this by adding that more work will be needed to respond to the damage caused in the 2023 storm events, necessitating a renewed closure after the gannets migrate in 2025.

Mr Markham says the gannets have always drawn a steady stream of curious bystanders to Muriwai in their breeding season.

“It is captivating to watch the habits of these noisy birds like their torpedo-style plunge to catch fish, and the bill fencing or head-bowing of pairs in their nest.

“The track opening will no doubt provide a welcome boost to Muriwai visits by being back on the tourist maps while the gannets are present,” says Mr Markham

“The Muriwai colony is one of only three Australasian gannet nesting sites in New Zealand, and it is by far the most accessible,” he adds.

The largest mainland colony is at Cape Kidnappers in Hawke’s Bay with around 5000 breeding pairs, followed by populations of around 1000 at both Muriwai and Farewell Spit at the top of the South Island.

“This year, we are expecting to see plenty of healthy chicks emerge as the colony grows from now through to the end of summer, and then they’ll eventually all take flight.

“The track provides some great vantage points to come and see the gannets until about March or April,” says Mr Markham.  

Once the gannets leave, the Maukatia Gannet Track is likely to temporarily close for more repair work.

Visitors are advised to check the track status before leaving home – Maukatia Gannet Track – coastal walks in Auckland.

Car parking is recommended in the Waitea Road car park. Follow the signs towards Maukatia / Māori Bay and look out for the unique ancient lava pillow formations on your way to Ōtakamiro Point.

Rangers remind visitors that dogs are not permitted on the track.

Source: Auckland Council

There’s no doubt that pets bring many Aucklanders a lot of joy. But if you and your family received a new pet recently, there are all kinds of new responsibilities. Whether a cat, a dog or something more exotic, follow this handy how-to guide on responsible pet ownership to help your furry, fluffy, feathered or scaly friends live their best lives.

Make sure your dog is registered before it turns three months old. Registration is a legal requirement for all dogs under the New Zealand Dog Control Act 1996, and if your dog is not registered you can be fined. Councils around New Zealand supply information about registered dogs to the National Dog Database and the registry helps dog control authorities reunite owners with their lost pups, as well as control dangerous or menacing dogs.

Registered dogs receive a coloured tag or strap (choose at the time of registration), and the colour will change every year. New puppies and dogs have to be microchipped by your vet within two months of first registration.

Luckily, Auckland Council makes it very easy to ensure your pooch has its paperwork in order – all you need to do is register your dog online. Fees vary depending on several factors, and you can even check if you qualify for a discount. After registering your dog, they will be sent a snazzy coloured Auckland Council disc or strap within 10 working days. You get to choose which type of tag you want, but straps are a good option for small dogs. You must renew your dog’s registration annually, and the colour of the disc or strap changes every year.

New puppies and dogs have to be microchipped by a vet within two months of their first registration, and it’s only done once in an animal’s lifetime. A microchip is a tiny implant about the size of a grain of rice, and has a unique 15-digit number which is added to the National Dog Database.

It’s not just dogs that can be microchipped – it’s recommended that cats, horses, turtles, rabbits, guinea pigs and exotic birds are also microchipped so they can be added to the Companion Animals Register. Microchipping helps lost animals be reunited with their owners, and it’s also particularly important to help identify feral stray cats which may be preying on native birds.

Desexing is a key way to improve animal welfare by preventing unwanted litters of puppies and kittens and reducing stray and feral cat populations. Mating behaviours are instinctive for cats and dogs, and desexing – also called spaying (females) and neutering (males) – will prevent animals from wandering away from home and may reduce some aggressive territorial behaviours. Stray cats and dogs suffer greatly so it’s best to avoid unwanted liters.

Dogs need regular exercise and taking your dog for a walk in an Auckland park is a great way to spend time with your furry friend. When out and about, it’s important to follow the rules for dogs in public places – dogs must be on-leash at all times in all Council-controlled public places with unrestricted access.

If you’re going to a special dog-walking park there may be designated areas in which your dog is allowed off-leash to play and socialise with other dogs. To find parks with off-leash areas, visit the parks search page on the Auckland Council website and select ‘Show only places with off-leash’. Remember to obey the signs and only take your dog off-leash in the designated areas.

Even when your dog is in an off-leash area it should stay under control. Always pick up your dog’s poop and dispose of it responsibly. Keep your dog away from any prohibited areas that are marked as ‘No dogs’.

Being a responsible pet owner means making sure your pet lives in a healthy home environment. This means access to food and water, freedom to move, a way to get exercise and lots of affection and mental stimulation. Remember your pet has instinctive behaviours such as chewing and hunting, and toys can help enrich your pet’s life without impacting native wildlife. Playing with toys will also keep your dog enriched and can also reduce barking.

Never release any pet into the wild. Red-eared slider turtles are a popular pet but pose a significant threat to the natural environment if released into the wild. If you can no longer care for your pet, rehome them responsibly.

Dogs must live in a fenced property, and small animals such as guinea pigs and rabbits should live in adequately sized hutch with a run. Turtles, fish and exotic birds should live in suitably sized enclosures. Remember never to release an animal into the wild as it’s not good for their wellbeing and they can pose a threat to native species – rehoming is the best option. Test your knowledge of exotic pets and how to care for them by taking the quiz here.

Aucklanders love their pet cats, but felines are hunters by instinct and do pose a threat to many native animals such as birds. Putting a bell on your cat and/or a brightly coloured scrunchy collar can help your cat be more noticeable to native birds as they are attracted to bright colours for food sources such as berries and will spot a scrunchy collar.

Cats and kittens have hunting instincts but toys will help them satisfy these instincts without impacting wildlife populations.

A cat enclosure or ‘catio’ will also make sure that your cat can access the outdoors without preying on wildlife. In wildlife areas such as Aotea / Great Barrier Island there are rules in place around responsible cat ownership, and cat owners in other parts of Auckland can benefit from many of these ideas.

Auckland Council recognises and rewards caring dog owners who have a Responsible Dog Owner Licence (RDOL). Owners with the RDOL must fulfil some criteria and pass a written test, but once successful they are then eligible for a reduction in dog registration fees. Study the brochure before applying for the written test – you’d be barking mad not to!

Source: Auckland Council

Various community and wellbeing support is available to storm-affected residents, including free help with processing home insurance claims, rates relief, temporary accommodation assistance, and wider financial and mental health support.

Storm Recovery Navigation Service

We know how much you want to get back on your feet and how overwhelming things can be on your road to recovery.

The Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Office has put in place a team of Storm Recovery Navigators to support individuals, whānau and families impacted by the extreme weather events.

Navigators provide a free and confidential wrap-around service to:

1. Provide one-on-one support and assistance
2. Make sure you have the most up-to date-information, while connecting you to other support agencies like Work and Income, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), and New Zealand Claims Resolution Service (NZCRS)
3. Help you to gain access to specialist services like legal advice and budget advice
4. Update you on grant applications/financial assistance available
5. Support you with Housing/tenancy issues/temporary accommodation/resettlement
6. Help you access other social and health services like counselling services and GP services

How do I access the Navigator Service?

To opt into the service, please either fill in our online referral form or phone 09 884 2070. For general enquiries relating to the service, please email navigators@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or phone 09 884 2070.

Temporary Accommodation Support

If you were displaced from your home by the 2023 extreme weather events, you may be eligible to receive interim financial support if your insurance payments for rental accommodation runs out. 

For more information, please visit the Ministry of Social Development’s (MSD) website: Temporary Accommodation Assistance.

If you are having trouble accessing financial support for temporary accommodation through Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) we would like to hear from you at navigators@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz.

The Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Office is providing advice to MSD and the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) on whether the eligibility criteria is working for Tāmaki Makaurau.

We want to understand how the current support packages are meeting the needs of storm-affected Aucklanders. If you have applied for Temporary Accommodation Assistance (TAA) and been declined, please email us with details of your experience at navigators@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz.

Mental wellbeing support and services

Free counselling support

Trained counsellors are available for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for mental health support following the extreme weather events.

To speak to a counsellor, phone or text Need to Talk? on 1737 for help with anxiety or mental health after an extreme weather event.

As well as this help line, did you know you’re also able to receive three free sessions with a counsellor. You’ll just need a referral from your General Practitioner (GP) / family doctor.

Free Wellbeing Apps

Below are some really helpful and free apps to support your wellbeing. You can download these apps for Android and Apple devices from Google Play and the App Store.

The Balance App

The Balance app is a wonderful resource which helps you manage your mental health and improve stress, sleep, mood, and more. This app is free in your first year of using it. Download the app on the Apple Store or on Google Play.

Groov

Co-founded by All Black legend, Sir John Kirwan, Groov gives you the tools to make small daily steps that create big changes for your daily wellbeing. Download it on the Apple Store or on Google Play.

Headstrong

Headstrong is the result of a co-design between the University of Auckland research team and young people. Dubbed as a ‘personal trainer for the mind’, Headstrong’s interactive chat function helps rangatahi feel like they’re texting with a trusted friend.

Crafted especially for New Zealand’s secondary school students, Headstrong’s interactive chat function helps rangitahi build resilience, foster a positive mindset, and navigate life’s challenges with confidence all while feeling like they’re texting with a trusted friend. Download it on the Apple Store or on Google Play.

Podcasts

What Matters Most’ Podcast – Vol X Looking After Yourself In The Face Of Natural Disasters

Hosted by Jacqui Maguire, a clinical psychologist, and Antonia Prebble, actor and presenter, in this episode Jacqui breaks down the three stages we typically go through following a natural disaster and how we can best look after ourselves – and one another – during these different periods. The pair also discuss what PTSD can look like, plus how to find a new routine, hope and gratitude in the wake of a major event. And, importantly they delve into exactly what we can do to care for and support children who are caught up in natural disasters.

Listen to this chat on Player FM or Apple podcasts.

‘After the Disaster’ Podcast

Hosted by disaster recovery expert, Dr Kate Brady, and with the support of the Australian Red Cross and the University of Melbourne, After the Disaster is another brilliant resource which gives you practical tips and evidenced-based advice on how to find your way through a disaster.

This includes tips for responding to questions like what should you expect? How do you look after yourself and the people around you? Why are relationships, the endless paperwork, emotions and parenting so hard right now? When are things going to feel normal again?

Listen to the podcast on Apple podcasts.

You can also contact:

Wellbeing support for tamariki and rangatahi

In case of an emergency, call 111.

For more wellbeing tips, resources, and tools, go to allsorts.org.nz.

Free support for processing home insurance claims

If you would like support and advice on your residential home insurance claim, the New Zealand Claims Resolutions Service (NZCRS) can help.  

The NZCRS is a free and independent service that provides residential homeowners with advice, case management support where appropriate and access to legal, technical and wellbeing services to help them achieve timely, fair and enduring resolution of their residential insurance claims resulting from natural disasters.   

They are there to help whether you’re unsure of what your insurer is telling you or have specific questions about either your insurance policy or the process that will be followed to settle your claim.

Do your homework before accepting a settlement.

NZCRS Director, Darren Wright says they are seeing a flow of settlements being presented to homeowners by insurers, and that it’s important for homeowners to understand their rights and obligations. He says homeowners should ask their insurer who will manage the repair – will your insurer arrange for the repair work to be done, or will you be responsible?

“If you receive a scope of work and payment from your insurer, it’s important to understand this is the insurer’s assessment and an interim payment based on what they believe the repair cost and strategy should be. The homeowner needs to engage their own builder to assess the scope and provide a quote for the repair costs. 

“If your builder’s scope is different from the insurer’s assessment, or the money paid by the insurer is not enough to cover your builder’s quote, then get in touch with your insurer. You should clearly set out what is different and what costs are not included. 

“It’s critically important you don’t incur any costs or agree with your builder on any contract until the insurer has accepted the changes and/or the cost variations. If the insurer is going to carry out the repair, it’s still important to check the scope to make sure you agree with it.”

You can contact NZCRS on 0508 624 327, email 2023/2024 rates relief – how to apply

Auckland Council announced it will be giving a 100 per cent rates relief to all households that are uninhabitable as a result of extreme weather events in the first half of 2023.

We hope this support helps to ease the financial burden for those most severely impacted.

If your house was red placarded as at 30 June 2023, you will receive a 100 per cent rates relief for the full 2023/2024 rating year. A credit will be automatically applied to rates invoices, so you don’t need to do anything. 

UPDATE: Stay up to date

Sign up to the recovery e-newsletter to get the latest updates direct to your inbox.

Source: Auckland Council

A single male Oriental fruit fly was found on 3 January in a surveillance trap in a suburban back yard in the Papatoetoe/Māngere area. An operation, led by Biosecurity New Zealand which is part of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), is now underway in response to the discovery of the fruit fly, and restrictions are in place.

For the most up to date information on this response, visit Biosecurity New Zealand’s website.

This area is divided into two zones, A and B, which have different restrictions. To check if you are in the controlled area and which zone applies to you visit Biosecurity New Zealand ‘s website.

These restrictions mean some changes to rubbish (particularly food scraps) collections in the area.

Auckland Council waste collections in Zone A

• There will be no food scraps collections (the small 23L bin) in this area until further notice.
• Follow Biosecurity New Zealand’s instructions to dispose of your fruit and vegetable waste.
• All other food waste e.g. meat, cooked meal scraps, dairy products, rice and pasta etc, can go into your rubbish bin.
• Rubbish and recycling collections will continue as usual.
• Do not put food waste into your recycling bins.

Zone A general restrictions (source: Biosecurity New Zealand)

• No whole fruit and vegetables (other than leafy or soil free root vegetables and cooked, processed, preserved, dried, frozen and canned fruit) can be moved from Zone A of the controlled area.
• Compost and green waste from gardens also cannot be moved out of this zone.
• Do not compost fruit and vegetables.
• Biosecurity New Zealand is providing all households in Zone A with bins for fruit and vegetable waste. Please follow all Biosecurity New Zealand’s instructions for disposal of fruit and vegetable waste.

Auckland Council waste collections in Zone B

• Rubbish, recycling and food scraps collections continue as normal however all homegrown produce waste and garden waste needs to be disposed of in Biosecurity New Zealand bins.

Zone B general restrictions (source: Biosecurity New Zealand)

• No fruit and vegetables grown in Zone B can be moved out of the controlled area.
• You can move commercially purchased fruit and vegetables (e.g. fruit and vegetables brought at the supermarket) out of the area.
• Home grown produce waste and garden waste needs to be disposed of in Biosecurity New Zealand bins.
• Biosecurity NZ is placing bins throughout Zone B for collection of home grown produce and garden waste.

Source: Auckland Council

Auckland Council, SkyCity and Vector are proud to bring together this year’s New Year’s Eve celebrations in Auckland’s city centre as Aotearoa New Zealand leads the global welcoming in of 2025. 

Highlights will include a five-minute fireworks display at midnight from the Sky Tower, and those at the Viaduct and multiple other vantage points will see a stunning Vector Lights show across the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Leading up to midnight, the harbour bridge will turn ‘teal’ to reflect the region’s maunga, landscape and moana, and display a series of spirals, sail shapes and the letters M and W acknowledging the mana whenua of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Large crowds are expected to gather into the evening, so please allow time for travel and plan well ahead using public transport, shared rides and taxis. Traffic access will be limited as some inner-city streets will be closed to vehicles later in the evening, allowing pedestrians to move about safely throughout New Year’s Eve.

Travel tips:

• Please be patient when approaching and leaving the city as traffic delays are likely.

• The southbound clip-on lanes (lanes 1 & 2) of the Auckland Harbour Bridge will be closed on New Year’s Eve for essential resurfacing.

• Plan your trip and arrange a safe ride home before heading out for New Year’s Eve festivities – trains will not be running but replacement bus services will be available.

• On New Year’s Eve, buses and ferries will operate on a Saturday timetable, with additional buses running after midnight. Use the Auckland Transport mobile app or Journey Planner for travel options.

• The last ferry departures will be from downtown to Devonport/Matiatia at 12:15am, Devonport to downtown at 12:30am, and Matiatia to downtown at 1am.

• Contactless payment options will be available to catch a bus or ferry home.

• Check AT’s Christmas and New Year timetables for more information about transport and travel on New Year’s Eve.

• Lime and Flamingo scooters will not be running in the central city from 10pm to 3am, to ensure a safe zone for pedestrians.

• Free secure bicycle parking will be available at Queens Wharf on New Years Eve between 5pm and 1am.

Important reminders:

• Vector Lights viewing is recommended from the eastern side of the bridge as routine NZTA maintenance work will cause some lighting outages on the western side. Visit vector.co.nz/lights for suggestions on where to watch the show.

• Use the extra rubbish bins and portable toilets provided to keep the city centre clean.

• Enjoy yourself responsibly – outside bars and restaurants, the streets are alcohol-free.

• Security guards and safety wardens will support police throughout New Year’s Eve to ensure celebrations run smoothly.

• Medical support and first aid will be onsite at Te Komititanga Square, Aotea Square, at 205 Queen Steet’s ANZ, and Wynyard Quarter’s Karanga Plaza.

• Stay connected –take a fully charged phone to capture the countdown!

Aucklanders outside the city centre can enjoy the midnight show from afar –there will be great views of the fireworks and Vector Lights at many of the city’s maunga including:

A reminder to please keep to the paths on the maunga, don’t use fireworks, and remember to take all rubbish home.

For all those who wish to see the action from the comfort of home, TVNZ will be streaming the countdown and midnight show online. 

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Read more detail on the midnight countdown here: ‘Seconds to Midnight’ leads New Year’s Eve countdown – OurAuckland

Happy New Year from everyone at Auckland Council!

Auckland Transport’s central city map showing New Year’s Eve street closures.