Warning after sewage leak into Wellington harbour
The Seaview treatment plant. Photo / RNZ / Krystal GibbensBy RNZA warning has been issued after a sewage leak in Wellington. Wellington Water said partially treated wastewater was released into the ocean after a mechanical failure at the Seaview treatment plant at around 6pm on Saturday. It said the water near the leak may look cloudy and could smell. People are advised to avoid the water near Pencarrow.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 21:13 UTC
Trump bought US$1m in Netflix, Warner Bros bonds after merger announcement
“When they have Warner Bros, that share goes up a lot. But they have a very big market share.”The next day, Paramount Skydance, an unsuccessful bidder in the blitz to buy Warner Bros Discovery, launched a hostile bid to buy the company. Paramount Skydance is run by David Ellison, the son of Trump ally Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle. Paramount Skydance declined to comment. Spokespeople for Warner Bros Discovery and the Trump Organisation did not respond to requests for comment.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 20:39 UTC
Pastures Past: Historic rural homesteads that succumbed to fire
The homestead was a wooden building consisting of 22 rooms, part being old and a considerable portion new. The building was insured for £9OO in the British Traders’ Office, and the furniture and effects for £5OO in the Victoria Office. Fire destroys well-known homesteadHawke’s Bay Herald-Tribune, July 31, 1941Fire destroyed the well-known homestead on Te Aute Station near Pukehou early this week. The homestead was also insured, but many personal effects gathered by the family of the owners are irreplaceable. It was an eight-roomed wooden building and was a sod building, the original portion being about 80 years old.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 20:33 UTC
Lotto ‘must be won’ Strike prize shared by 118 players
A total of 118 Lotto players are sharing the spoils after Saturday night’s ‘must be won’ $1.5 million Strike prize was split among multiple winners. Each of the 118 players will receive $13,457 after no single ticket claimed the full Strike prize. The winning Lotto numbers were 22, 31, 33, 23, 11 and 36, with the bonus ball 24 and Powerball number 9, as reported by Stuff. The $4 million Powerball jackpot was not won, pushing Wednesday night’s prize pool up to $5 million. The winning tickets were purchased at Whitcoulls New Plymouth, Miramar Lotto and Gift Shop in Wellington, and Pak’nSave Moorhouse in Christchurch, Stuff has reported.
Source:Stuff
January 17, 2026 20:09 UTC
Declassified: NZSIS spies release Rainbow Warrior documents, including David Lange’s secret wish
The documents were sought as part of research into the Herald’s Rainbow Warrior podcast - A Forgotten History - but have only recently been made available by the NZSIS. The attack killed photographer Fernando Pereira, leading to a murder investigation and the arrest of Mafart and Prieur just days later. Image created for the podcast Rainbow Warrior: A Forgotten History. A police photo of the Rainbow Warrior at Marsden Wharf. The Service had urged police to focus closely on the Rainbow Warrior ahead of the bomb going off.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 19:03 UTC
Doctor Askar delivers $500k win for Joe Doyle as parents watch at Trentham
“What a super horse,” he said. “My mum and dad are here today, so it was nice to ride a big winner in front of them. “We are horse racing people to the bone and it means everything to us. “I just said to Joe, ‘he has done really well, he has eaten every day, he is working well, I have done my job’. “There is more in him in handicaps at this stage and I am hoping he can progress to weight-for-age level.”– LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 19:02 UTC
Weather: Parts of Northland flooded with more heavy rain on the way
The Whangaruru North Residents and Ratepayers Association said Tūparehuia Marae has been opened for people needing shelter. In Helena Bay, Liv Patu said there had been torrential rain most of the night. The Whangārei District Council confirmed Ngunguru, Helena Bay, Ōakura, Punaruku and Whangaruru have been cut off by flooding. On the roads, the Ngaiotonga Bridge has washed out by the turn off to Bland Bay and Whangaruru North Rd. Motorist Amy Tipene said floodwaters were rising at Scows Landing on Ngunguru Rd, with the river breaking its bank.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 18:57 UTC
Ben Timmins, killed in Waitārere Beach shooting, had long court history – drugs, firearms, ERA battles
Among several illegal items found at Timmins’ Whanganui property were 58 cannabis plants and 204 rounds of ammunition. Timmins was killed in a shooting at Waitārere Beach in which three others were critically injured on January 14, 2026. Police at the property on Waitārere Beach Rd following a shooting that left a man dead and three others in hospital. Ben Timmins’ history in the courtsDrug, ammunition and theft convictionsTimmins had his property searched on December 21, 2016, after an informant told police he had firearms there. Firearms chargesIn July 2018, Timmins appealed a historical firearms conviction from 1996.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 18:15 UTC
US to hit UK, European nations with tariffs over Greenland as protests are held there and in Denmark
Protesters in Copenhagen wave Greenlandic flags as they take part in a rally under the slogans 'hands off Greenland' and 'Greenland for Greenlanders'. Around her, demonstrators waved the flags of Denmark and Greenland while chanting “Kalaallit Nunaat!” – the vast Arctic island’s name in Greenlandic. US ‘security’ claimsTrump has repeatedly claimed that the United States needs Greenland for US “national security”. Washington and the European Union struck a deal last summer to lower US tariffs on key European goods, with the deal currently being implemented. It is also roundly rejected by Greenlanders, 85% of whom – according to the latest poll published in January 2025 – oppose the territory joining the United States.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 17:55 UTC
Nazis in NZ: New book details challenges Kiwi and Australian investigators faced probing war crime claims
Accused Nazi war criminals stand to attention in 1946 in a camp the Germans would once have managed themselves. Photo / 123rfBeale said conditions awaiting the international investigators travelling through Lithuania to find evidence about suspected Nazi war criminals were “like stepping back 50 years”. Nazi hunters provided a list of about 50 suspected Nazi war criminals living in New Zealand during the 1990s, but no charges were laid. Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff was adamant New Zealand had become home to suspected Nazi war criminals after WWII. Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal dedicated his life to try to bring Nazi war criminals to justice in the decades after WWII.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 17:33 UTC
Stay-at-home sons are here – and they’re not going anywhere
“I’m not actually endorsing doing nothing.”Brendan Liaw joked that being a stay-at-home son was "a pretty good gig" on Jeopardy! But he also has many friends who stuck around the family home until much later in life. Social distancing in the pandemic inspired Abdullah Abbasi, 24, to start selling “Stay at Home Sons” merchandise with two of his friends in 2020. “If you look at it from Hollywood terms, I was like that loser kid that lives with his mom,” Abbasi said. “I can look someone in the eyes and say, ‘Hell, yeah, I’m a stay-at-home son’,” he said.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 17:15 UTC
Bravo Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman, but where’s Christopher Luxon as Donald Trump wreaks havoc? – Fran O’Sullivan
Or the Finance Minister or the Reserve Bank board before signing the statement? But the central bank leaders’ statement was careful. “It is therefore critical to preserve that independence, with full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability.”Importantly, no other central bank governor has been chastened by political leaders for attaching their names to the quite anodyne statement. The central bank heads have not commented directly on that. When a central bank is not independent, monetary policy is usually set with an eye to political outcomes.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 17:00 UTC
Fashionable farming family turns Mystery Creek lifestyle block into mini empire
“For a lifestyle block, miniature cows do a good job eating the grass and there’s less pugging,” Anna said. “We definitely breed for cuteness, aiming for compact belted Galloways or the white ones with black ears, noses and eyelashes. “There is a good market for miniature cattle.”Anna Campbell, left, with her black and white miniature Galloways. Eleanor started the tradition of everything being black and white when she had her small house built. “When I got two pigs, silkie chickens and dogs all in black and white, it became a thing that we always had black and white animals,” she said.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 17, 2026 16:06 UTC
Pair honoured at New Year share Duntroon link
The North Otago school produced two new Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit — Richard Kennett and Sandy Pasley. "I am really grateful for all the huge number of the people who have supported me throughout my career." She could not remember whether the two were in the same year at school but did remember Mr Kennett and his brother. Mr Kennett, a Glenorchy resident, has spent the past 50 years contributing to conservation projects around the Wakatipu Basin. He was the senior non-police representative on the search and rescue incident management team in the Wakatipu Basin, through which he had contributed to numerous significant search and recovery field operations.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 17, 2026 15:46 UTC
Recipient humbled
PHOTO: ODT FILESDouglas Brenssell, who received the King’s Service Medal, has been active in the Hāwea community for the past 25 years. "That’s not what it’s about, it’s about doing things for the betterment of the community and helping people." He has also been a committee member of the Hāwea Community Association and Hāwea Picnic Racing Club as well as a founding member of the Hāwea Domain Board and the Upper Clutha community patrol. Mr Brenssell spent 16 years as part of the Lake Hāwea Volunteer Fire Brigade, also serving as chief fire officer. In 2012 he was the recipient of the Hāwea Volunteer of the Year award.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 17, 2026 15:46 UTC