Local Matters NZ

The Silverdale Rugby U85 team celebrates its North Harbour championship win. Photo, Craig Butland Photography. It has been an outstanding season for Silverdale Rugby Club, with success across the grades and its U85kg side securing a third consecutive North Harbour championship before turning its attention to the national stage.

State Highway 1 is blocked in both directions near Wellsford following a serious crash that has reportedly left people critically injured. Motorists are being diverted and warned to expect delays. Police were alerted to the crash near River Road at 2pm, with initial reports indicating critical injuries. The Serious Crash Unit has been advised. Both north and south bound lanes are blocked, with diversions in place at State Highway 16 and Woodcocks Road.

Auckland and Northland are likely to experience above-average temperatures and below-normal rainfall this spring as a rapidly strengthening El Niño begins to influence New Zealand’s weather. According to Earth Sciences New Zealand’s Spring Outlook, covering September – November 2026, the event is expected to be one of the strongest El Niños in recent history, with the potential to have significant impacts.

Screenshot More than 300 metres of ageing wastewater pipes have been replaced in Maungatūroto, improving the reliability and resilience of the town’s wastewater network. Contractor TDG Environmental replaced six sections of pipeline on Hurndall Street and Whaka Street. The network carries about 750,000 litres of wastewater each day and serves around 1,350 people.

Everyone aboard a recreational craft six metres or shorter will be required to wear a properly fitted lifejacket under legislation passed by Parliament this week. Shane Reti’s Maritime Transport (Lifejackets on Recreational Craft) Amendment Bill passed on 2 September. The Bill first appeared on the Ballot in 2013 before being drawn in the name of Cameron Brewer last year.

The $58 million redevelopment of Waiwera Thermal Springs has received resource consent from Auckland Council, with construction expected to begin in early 2027 ahead of a planned mid-2028 opening. The 1.7-hectare Hibiscus Coast site was once home to the country’s largest water park, which closed in 2018 and sat abandoned for several years before demolition began in 2023.

Road dust kicked up by passing traffic can have a greater impact on Auckland’s air pollution than vehicle exhaust, new research has found. The 13-year study found road dust was a significant source of PM₁₀ — tiny airborne particles linked to respiratory and cardiovascular problems. Published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, the research analysed air-quality data from Queen Street in central Auckland, Khyber Pass and Penrose.

Police are appealing for information after a 1.4-metre wooden sculpture inlaid with glass birds was stolen from the Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangārei. Tiori Toru was removed from the centre’s grounds at about 3.15am on August 24, with the offender reportedly leaving the scene on a bicycle. Senior Sergeant Charmaine Smith, Whangārei Area Response Manager, said the offender left the scene on a bike and the sculpture has not yet been located.

Dionne McMullan and David Bellis. The arrival of Fur Babies Pet Food Store has given Snells Beach residents the opportunity to have the area’s only dedicated pet shop on their doorstep. The combination of Dionne McMullan’s experience in dog grooming, David Bellis’ love for animals and an available empty shop was the perfect recipe for the new business. The pair met through David’s wife, Deb, and quickly discovered they shared a passion for animals.

Communities like Mahurangi continue to pay the price for decades of poorly managed fisheries. Right now, we’re dealing with temporary closures to shellfish harvesting, bans on crayfish and scallop gathering, and smaller bag limits. These measures are only a Band-aid solution. They don’t solve the underlying problem of a failing fisheries management system driving the ongoing depletion of our coastal fisheries. The disease of depletion is not unique to Mahurangi.