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Source: New Zealand Police (District News)
State Highway 94 near the Homer Tunnel is currently blocked following a crash.
The two-vehicle crash was reported around 3:45pm.
Initial indications suggest there are injuries.
Motorists are advised to expect delays.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
Source: Ministry for Primary Industries
The biosecurity response to the find of a single male Oriental fruit fly in Papatoetoe is making good progress with extra traps in place, stepped up checks, legal controls introduced, special bins delivered for fruit and vegetable waste disposal, and a mobile lab in place, says Mike Inglis, Biosecurity New Zealand regional Commissioner North.
“Our team have been back out today as we continue to ramp up our response efforts to ensure there are no other fruit flies around,” says Mr Inglis.
“There were already 187 surveillance traps in the Papatoetoe/Mangere area, and by the end of today an extra 105 will be in place within a 1,500 metre area of the original find.
“While we look for more flies, yesterday, we introduced legal controls to restrict the movement of fruit and vegetables around the location where the Oriental fruit fly was found to stop the spread of any other Oriental fruit flies that may be out there.
“We’ve been delivering information to residential letterboxes about the two zones affected by restrictions and people can also find full information about what they need to do here:
“People will notice biosecurity signage up in the area and we delivered special disposal bins for fruit and vegetable waste this morning.”
Mr Inglis says instead of putting waste in rubbish bins to be disposed of normally, residents in the two zones are being asked to put fruit and vegetable waste into the special response bins for Biosecurity New Zealand to dispose of securely.
Every household in Zone A will have a fruit and vegetable disposal bin, and in Zone B, there will be about 34 bins placed around the edge of the zone, primarily on major transport routes and a further 75 placed within the Zone.
“The bins in Zone A will be cleared daily initially, then as required. There will be no need to put them out on the street as they will be serviced, rebagged and insecticide applied in bag and inside lid where they are currently placed. If residents have any issues with the bin or need them clearing earlier, they can call us on 0800 80 99 66.
“I want to thank the local community for their positive response to our team so far. In the previous 12 occasions we’ve found fruit flies in New Zealand we’ve successfully eradicated them with the help of our horticulture sector partners and local communities, so it’s important everyone plays their part. At present, the restrictions will be in place for a fortnight.”
Mr Inglis said a mobile laboratory to examine fruit and vegetables collected from around Papatoetoe for Oriental fruit fly larvae and eggs had been set up.
“The mobile lab work and checking of fruit helps to provide us with an extra layer of certainty that there are no other fruit flies out there,” Mr Inglis says.
To report suspected finds of fruit fly, call MPI’s Pest and Diseases Hotline on 0800 80 99 66.
We will send out a further update if we receive significant new information.
Source: New Zealand Police (District News)
Waikato motorists are asked to be aware of two crashes which are impacting traffic.
The first was a crash involving two cars at the intersection of State Highway 1 and Maungatautari Road, reported to Police at 11.35am.
The second also involved two cars and was at the intersection of State Highway 29 and Totman Road, reported to Police at 12.40pm.
There are no serious injuries reported in either crash, but they have both impacted traffic and motorists are advised to expect delays.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre.
Source: New Zealand Police (District News)
Attributable to Northland District Commander, Superintendent Matt Srhoj:
At around 8.40 pm on Saturday 4 January Police were in attendance at a single vehicle collision on State Highway 14, Maungatapere near the intersection with Kokopu Block Road.
Several Police officers were on site. They were all wearing high-visibility garments and the patrol vehicles had their red and blue lights flashing.
While at the scene, a second vehicle has veered across the road and collided with the front of one of the patrol vehicles. The driver of the first vehicle was being spoken to by a police officer in that patrol vehicle.
Both the Police officer and the first driver received minor injuries.
Another Police officer received moderate injuries after being hit as he attempted to evade the out-of-control vehicles.
The driver of the second vehicle also received minor injuries. All injured parties were taken to Whangarei Hospital and later discharged.
Early indications are that the second driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel and lost control of their vehicle. Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash but cannot be confirmed until toxicology results are returned. Any potential charges for this driver will be considered in due course.
We are extremely grateful that our staff are all going to be okay. They will be sore for a while, but their injuries could have been much worse. We are supporting them and their families while they recover at home.
Police also acknowledge the driver of the first vehicle who was also injured when the patrol vehicle was struck.
We are lucky not to be dealing with a fatality here. This incident highlights the risks of driving while under the influence and driving while tired, and we urge people not to drive if they are impaired in any way.
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre
Source: CoreLogic
Property values in Aotearoa New Zealand fell -0.2% in December, marking the ninth drop in the past 10 months, according to CoreLogic’s hedonic Home Value Index (HVI).
“However, job insecurity will still be playing a restraining role, as is the elevated levels of listings available on the market.”
Index results for December 2024 – national and main centres
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
Most of Tamaki Makaurau Auckland’s sub-markets saw falls in property values in December, ranging from a modest decline of 0.1% in Manukau, up to 0.5% in Rodney, and a fall of 0.7% apiece in Auckland City and Franklin. However, North Shore ticked up by 0.1% in December and has also seen values rise over a slightly longer horizon since September as well.
Mr Davidson noted: “Abundant supply is still a significant restraint on property values in Auckland, both in terms of existing properties listed for sale, but also the flow of new-build stock being completed. North Shore has been bucking the trend to some extent in recent months, although with affordability still likely to be a challenge for many buyers in that market too, it’s difficult to see a fresh boom kicking off anytime soon.”
Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington
The wider Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington area remained soft in December, with falls in values across the board. The 0.1% decline in Kapiti Coast was modest, but Wellington City (-0.9%) and Lower Hutt (-1.2%) were notably more sluggish.
Commenting on the Wellington market, Mr Davidson said: “It was more of the same in December, with property values generally remaining weak. To some extent, housing affordability has been restored in Wellington off the back of the significant fall in values in the past 2-3 years. As such, the latest declines seem more attributable to public sector cut backs and the negative effect this will be having on economic and housing market sentiment across the wider region.”
Regional results
“It’s early days, but we may now be seeing the influence of lower mortgage rates starting to come through providing a subtle boost to property values around some parts of provincial NZ,” Mr Davidson noted.
“Housing affordability can sometimes be more favourable in these areas too, alongside the solid support provided by farming-based economies, which have been holding up relatively well lately.”
“However, a sudden or strong upturn in property values across large swathes of the country still doesn’t seem particularly likely until the wider weakness of the labour market starts to turn around.”
Source: Ministry for Primary Industries
Biosecurity New Zealand has now placed legal controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in Papatoetoe, says Biosecurity New Zealand Commissioner North Mike Inglis.
The move follows the detection of a single male Oriental fruit fly in a surveillance trap in the area. To date, no other flies have been found in surveillance traps.
“We need community help to make sure we successfully find and eradicate any further fruit flies that may be present in the area,” says Mr Inglis.
Biosecurity New Zealand staff are busy in the area today laying more traps and giving out information to households.
“There have been 12 previous fruit fly incursions in New Zealand, which we have successfully eradicated so we have a very strong and detailed operational plans to guide our work.”
“The rules now in place prohibit moving fruit and vegetables out of a specified controlled area around where the fruit fly was found.
“You can find a detailed map of the controlled area and a full description of the boundaries and rules in place here:
Controlled Area Notice (CAN) [PDF, 485 KB]
The controlled area has two zones – A and B. Zone A is a 200m zone, with a 198 properties. Zone B covers a 1500 metre area, with 5,470 properties.
No whole fresh fruit and vegetables, except for leafy vegetables and soil free root vegetables, can be moved outside Zone A. This applies to all produce, regardless of whether it was bought or grown.
All fruit and vegetables grown within Zone B cannot be moved out of the controlled area.
“These legal controls are an important precaution while we investigate whether there are any further fruit flies present in the area,” Mr Inglis says.
“Should there be any more flies out there, this will help prevent their spread out of the area.
“We are working closely with our Government Industry Agreement partners in the horticultural industry. We all appreciate this will be inconvenient for the many people living in and around the controlled area, but following these directions is a critical precaution to protect our horticultural industries, home gardens and our New Zealand way of life.
“It is likely the restrictions will be in place for at least two weeks.”
Signs will also be put in place notifying people of the restrictions and marking the controlled area boundaries.
To report suspected finds of fruit fly, call MPI’s Pest and Diseases Hotline on 0800 80 99 66.
No 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.
Residents in Zone A are asked to avoid composting fruit and vegetables. To dispose of fruit and vegetable waste, use a sink waste disposal unit if available, or bins provided by Biosecurity New Zealand. These bins will be delivered shortly, and residents advised of their location.
No fruit and vegetables grown in the Zone B can be moved out of the controlled area. You are free to 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.
Source: New Zealand Police (District News)
Remutaka Hill/SH2 is closed following a crash.
The two-vehicle crash was reported to emergency services at 11:30am.
One person has been seriously injured, and a second person has received moderate injuries.
Motorists are advised to avoid the area and expect delays.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
Source: New Zealand Police (National News)
Please attribute to Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Pilmer:
Whangārei Police are appealing for information following a suspicious fire at a Tikipunga property on 2 January.
At around 5.30am that day, a member of the public driving down Kiripaka Road came across a vehicle on fire on the front lawn of a residential property.
The member of the public alerted the occupants of the house, and assisted them with moving another vehicle to ensure that did not also catch fire.
Police would like to speak to this member of the public, and any other potential witnesses who may have seen or heard something suspicious in Kiripaka Road around the time of the fire.
If you can help, please contact Police via 105 and quote file number 250102/5758.
Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre.
Source: New Zealand Police (National News)
Police can now release the name of the man who died following a crash on Riversdale Drive in New Plymouth on 24 December 2024.
He was 60-year-old Darcy Wilfred Brewer of Merrilands, New Plymouth.
Police extend our condolences to his family and loved ones at this difficult time.
Enquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre.