Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Ahead of Show Your Stripes Day on 21 June raising awareness of climate change, Professor Cate Macinnis-Ng delves into the environmental impacts of our warming winters.

A warm start to winter might seem like good news, but unseasonal weather has serious environmental consequences, says University of Auckland Professor Cate Macinnis-Ng.

Record high temperatures have been recorded this month in Wellington and across much of the country, says Macinnis-Ng, a Professor of Biological Sciences.

“A wide range of natural and human systems are disrupted by this abnormally mild winter weather,” she says.

Many native trees typically have a dormant period during winter, but warmer temperatures can spur unseasonal growth, says Macinnis-Ng.

“Our measurements over the past few years show kauri in Auckland are continuing to grow right through winter.

“Unfortunately, that has negative impacts on their ability to store carbon.

“Warmer weather increases tree respiration rates, so more carbon is released into the atmosphere, creating a pretty alarming climate change spiral.”

More insects from warmer climates are becoming pests in New Zealand, as milder winter weather makes it easier for them to survive here, she says.

“We’re likely to get more exotic wasps, which are harmful to our native insects, birds and reptiles – as well as packing a nasty sting for humans.

“We’re also expecting to see increasing numbers of parasites in sheep and cattle and more insect pests in plantation forests.”

With fewer cold snaps, there’s a higher risk of new invasions of larger mosquitoes, ants, cattle ticks, and exotic pests, such as the Queensland fruit fly, says Macinnis-Ng, who works with the University’s Centre for Climate, Biodiversity and Society – Ngā Ara Whetū.

“The good news is flea infestations are expected to decline in parts of New Zealand that are getting warmer and drier.”

New invasive plants from subtropical regions could become established in New Zealand and existing pest plants could spread further, she says.

New Zealand’s alpine zones are particularly vulnerable to winter warming, because the native plants and wildlife there have adapted to icy conditions, with few predators and competitors, says Macinnis-Ng.

Animal pests, such as rats, stoats and ferrets, could increase in numbers and spread to higher elevations in alpine areas as they grow warmer, a pattern known as “thermal squeeze”, she says.

“We’re concerned about thermal squeeze, because it shrinks the remaining safe spaces left for alpine birds, like the kea and our endangered native rock wren, the tuke.

“So the risk of extinctions rises.”

Macinnis-Ng says the horticulture industry depends on cold winter nights to trigger spring flowering.

Future climates could cause kiwifruit vines and fruit trees, such as apples and avocados, to flower less prolifically and have poor-quality fruit, she says.

“Heat stress reduces the quality and size of crops like potatoes and onions.

“But more tropical crops, like bananas, could begin to flourish here.

“Plant breeding and gene technologies might also help us develop fruit and vegetables that can grow well in a warmer world.”

Macinnis-Ng says more scientific research will be needed to develop solutions to the problems warmer winters cause for native wildlife and primary industries.

“As the climate changes, we’re going to need to find the best ways to adapt to all these impacts on our environment and on our society as a whole,” she says.

Show Your Stripes Day uses graphics with coloured stripes to show how climate change has impacted on temperatures in different parts of the world. Blue shades indicate cooler temperatures, while red shades represent warmer temperatures. The event aims to raise awareness about our warming world.

• Bay of Plenty reclaims first place, ending Canterbury’s run at the top
• Canterbury and Otago round out the podium in second and third
• North Island shows broader improvement, with most regions in top half
• Wellington lifts off the bottom rung, but ongoing pressures remain

The Bay of Plenty has taken out the top spot in ASB’s Regional Economic Scoreboard for the March quarter, as regional economic growth remains uneven but continues to broaden across New Zealand.

ASB’s Regional Economic Scoreboard ranks New Zealand’s 16 regions across key indicators, including employment, construction, house prices, retail trade and consumer confidence. In the March quarter, the Bay of Plenty led the country, supported by strong employment growth and solid gains across construction demand, retail spending and the housing market.

ASB Chief Economist Nick Tuffley says the Bay’s performance reflects the strength of its primary sector and export base.

“After a bumper 2025 kiwifruit season and a strong start to 2026, the Bay of Plenty has reclaimed the top spot. Strong export demand and solid employment growth are underpinning the region’s momentum,” says Nick.

Canterbury, which held the top position for much of 2025, slipped back to second place but continues to perform strongly across most measures. The region remains well supported by strong dairy incomes, population growth, tourism and ongoing investment.

Otago retained a podium finish in third place, with strong retail spending and tourism activity supporting household demand, although employment growth has softened.

Five of the North Island’s eight regions placed in the top half of the Scoreboard in Q1, reflecting improving momentum across employment, construction demand and retail spending.

“The regional story this quarter is one of a more balanced recovery,” says Nick. “We’re seeing broader improvement across the North Island, with most regions now sitting in the top half of the rankings.”

Auckland remains mid-table, with growth in retail spending and housing activity supported by migration and tourism, though labour market conditions remain weak.

At the other end of the rankings, Wellington showed some improvement, moving off the bottom of the Scoreboard, although the region continues to face significant headwinds, particularly in housing and construction.

“While it’s encouraging to see Wellington lift from last place, the Capital still faces ongoing challenges. Weak housing market conditions and job uncertainty are continuing to weigh on confidence and activity,” says Nick.

Nationally, economic activity continued to gain momentum in the March quarter: ASB is forecasting March quarter GDP growth of 0.8%.

Employment, tourism and migration all lifted, supporting broader economic momentum, while retail spending remained resilient. However, ASB Economists note that global uncertainty is increasingly shaping the outlook.

“While there are encouraging signs of recovery, storm clouds are looming. Inflation remains elevated and global developments, particularly the Middle East conflict, are expected to weigh on growth, cost pressures and consumer confidence in the short term,” says Nick.

“With inflation expected to remain above the RBNZ’s target for much of 2026 and cost pressures building, the pace of the recovery is likely to remain uneven across regions.”

About the ASB Regional Economic Scoreboard

The ASB Regional Economic Scoreboard takes the latest quarterly regional statistics and ranks the economic performance of New Zealand's 16 Regional Council areas. The fastest growing regions gain the highest ratings, and a good performance by the national economy raises the ratings of all regions. Ratings are updated every three months, and are based on 11 measures, including employment, construction, retail trade, and house prices.

The full ASB Regional Economic Scoreboard, along with other recent ASB reports covering a range of commentary, can be accessed at our ASB Economic Insights page: https://www.asb.co.nz/documents/economic-insights.html

Brain scientists from the University of Auckland are helping communities in the Philippines to better understand a brain disease that only affects Filipino men.

Neuroscientists from the University of Auckland and Massachusetts General Hospital worked together to help set up a brain bank on the small island of Panay in the Philippines

Tissue donated to the brain bank provides a vital resource for the scientists, who are trying to unravel the secrets of X-linked dystonia parkinsonism (XDP).

This degenerative brain disease only strikes men of Filipino descent, often hitting when they are in their twenties or thirties.  

About eight years ago, Distinguished Professor Sir Richard Faull, Associate Professor Henry Waldvogel and Dr Malvindar Singh-Bains from the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research began providing expertise to help people in the Philippines with XDP.

The brain disease has a wide range of symptoms, with many men experiencing severe uncontrolled movements, muscle spasms and tremors.

“They're not aware of these swaying, jerking movements, until they try to do a task,” says Singh-Bains.

“Eating is a tough one for them. You see men twisting their head back, then forward, or they put a tea towel around their mouth to try to trick their brain into stopping the uncontrolled movements.

“It’s very confronting.”

Many are unable to walk, but don’t have resources like wheelchairs.

“Often, they end up bed-bound, lying on mattresses on the floor,” she says.

Although mothers who carry the gene that causes XDP have no symptoms, many carry a burden of guilt for passing on to their sons the gene that causes the debilitating disease, says Singh-Bains.  

Panay has a population of about 4.5 million and about six out of every 100,000 people there suffer from XDP.

The outreach from Auckland to the Philippines began in 2017, when Harvard University Professor and Chief of Neurology Anne Young asked Sir Richard to join her on a trip to the Philippines to look for ways to help people with XDP.  

In 1994, Sir Richard had founded the Neurological Foundation Human Brain Bank at the University of Auckland, so his expertise was desperately needed in the Philippines.

Two years later, the XDP Brain Bank was launched.

It was funded by the Sunshine Care Foundation and Collaborative Centre for XDP, established by Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine, whose Filipino brother has the condition.

Singh-Bains and Waldvogel first visited the Philippines in 2018, their suitcases packed with essential equipment.

“We instantly knew that we wanted to help,” she says.

“My family is originally from India, and in the Philippines I saw the same extremes of wealth and poverty. So I have a strong sense of connection with the community there.”

Singh-Bains and Waldvogel condensed months of training into four-hour sessions, where locals learned how to painstakingly preserve brains donated by the families of people with XDP, after they passed away.

The methods they demonstrated in Manila and on Panay allow the tissue to be used for research at Auckland and Harvard universities.

The neuroscientists hope to uncover what happens inside a brain with XDP – and eventually find ways to treat the condition, says Singh-Bains, who is the Douglas Research Fellow at the Neurological Foundation Human Brain Bank.

From Auckland, she continues to guide staff and volunteers in the Philippines on brain preservation techniques, sometimes through late night video calls.

Tissue from more than 100 brains has now been processed by the brain bank in Panay.

Singh-Bains leads a team that has been working on identifying the ‘disease signature’ of XDP in brain tissue sent from Panay to Auckland. This work has been funded by the Collaborative Centre for XDP.

Later this year, the University of Auckland team hope to publish their groundbreaking discovery of the blueprint of the disease in the striatum, part of the brain that is crucial for controlling body movement.

“We've spent the past four years trying to figure out what the disease signature is in the striatum – and we think we’ve finally cracked it,” says Singh-Bains.  

Mapping the signature of XDP in the brain will allow scientists to replicate the disease in lab-grown brain cells and animal models.  

From there, researchers can start hunting for treatments that might relieve symptoms, prevent the onset of the disease, or delay its impacts.  

Earlier this year, Sir Richard and Singh-Bains returned to the Philippines to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Panay brain bank and Collaborative Centre for XDP.

They met with about 400 patients, family members and medical professionals, who expressed “immense gratitude” for their support, says Sir Richard.

Singh-Bains says the Western world doesn't always care about illnesses that affect people in distant lands.

“We get asked why brain scientists here in New Zealand are studying a disease that mostly affects people in the Philippines.

“Our answer is clear: We're trying to help humanity,” she says.

Sir Richard adds: “They reached out for our help and you can’t say no.”

Right now, the only treatment available to people with XDP in the Philippines is Botox injections, which help ease their movement symptoms for a few months.

“We’re giving all we can to try to find a better treatment,” says Singh-Bains.