Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

If a fire were to happen in the cabin, crew are trained to deal with it quickly and safely.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a nationwide campaign reminding travellers that spare lithium batteries must be correctly packed in your carry-on only.

So far in 2025, the Aviation Security Service (AvSec) have removed more than 250,000 batteries from passengers’ bags at New Zealand airports. However, safety and security rely on multiple layers of protection, including you.

Warwick Burr, General Manager of New Zealand’s AvSec said, “It’s everyone’s responsibility to have a safe flight and that begins with what you put in your bag.”

“We need you to play your part by knowing how to pack your batteries safely.”

Most of the batteries removed from checked bags are spare lithium batteries, showing that many travellers are still unclear about the rules. Research also confirms that people often remain unsure or make mistakes when deciding where dangerous goods, like lithium batteries, should be packed.

“We’re tackling one of the most common and misunderstood travel mistakes in line with aviation authorities around the world,” added Burr.

All spare lithium batteries, which include power banks, wireless earbud and hearing aid charging cases, and vapes, must be correctly packed in carry-on only and follow the packing restrictions for each item. These devices cannot exceed 100 Watt Hours without specific airline approval.

Air New Zealand is backing the campaign and encourages all travellers to check the rules before they fly.

“Safety is our utmost priority, and it starts on the ground. We have comprehensive guidance on our website about what can and can’t be carried, and our airport teams are always happy to help if you’re unsure,” said Air New Zealand Chief Safety and Risk Officer Nathan McGraw.

The New Zealand Airports Association is also on board.

Billie Moore, Chief Executive of NZ Airports Association, said, “We want everyone to have a safe and seamless journey. Before you head to the airport, take a moment to check your gear and understand the rules.”

“A bit of preparation helps the whole system run more smoothly and supports the teams keeping you safe.”

If you’re not sure what’s allowed or how to pack your batteries correctly, don’t leave it to chance. Check with your airline or visit aviation.govt.nz/packsmart before you fly. Following these guidelines will help ensure that you can travel safely and will prevent delays at security screening.

Pack smart and play your part, so that together, we can fly safer.

Notes

Not sure what’s allowed or are you travelling with an item not listed above? Comprehensive information can be found on the Travelling with batteries page.

Key battery restrictions are shown below.

All batteries in carry on must be individually protected by being in retail packaging, individual bag, a protective pouch, or with tape placed over exposed terminals.

Some devices powered by lithium batteries such as laptops, phones, e-readers, or cameras, may be carried in checked bags. These devices must be completely switched off and protected from accidental activation or damage. Although, it’s recommended you always keep them with you in carry-on. Some airlines already mandate that you keep these items with you in carry-on.

Airlines allow a person to carry a total of 20 spare batteries unless they approve more batteries to be carried. Check with your airline for their specific restrictions.

Battery powered heated hair styling devices are not permitted unless the battery, heating element, or other component can be removed. An example of 'other component' is a flight ready tag that, when removed (and should not be re-inserted), isolates the battery from the heating element. See the full explanation of battery powered hair straightening devices.

If the lithium battery is:

• up to 100Wh, it’s fine to travel in carry-on 
• between 100Wh and 160Wh your airline must approve it to be carried 
• above 160Wh it’s prohibited from travelling on an aircraft. 
• Each person is limited to taking two batteries that exceed 100wh with airline approval.

Porirua City is about to publish draft district-wide assessments that map where landslide and liquefaction geohazards are more likely to occur in Porirua. Flood hazard modelling is also being updated for five of our catchments.

The maps produced with the assessments will provide the most up-to-date information on these hazards for residents, as well as planners, engineers, developers, and owners and managers of critical infrastructure, so they can help our communities plan for the future.

Nicola Etheridge, General Manager Policy, Planning and Regulatory Services says these assessments will help Council and residents understand the risks we face from hazards.

“The way our city has developed over time has meant we have sometimes built in places that are susceptible to natural hazards. Mapping these hazards will help us plan better for the future, including how and where we build on and develop the land.

“Geohazard assessments identify areas of land that might be prone to these hazards, based on certain known factors. For example, a steeper slope will be more likely to slip under the same conditions than a shallower slope,” she says.

The draft maps will be shown on Land Information Memorandum (LIM) documents to inform current, prospective and future owners of the potential for landslides, liquefaction and flooding in an area. They will also be used in decision-making for the Council when identifying areas for development or for building Council assets like infrastructure. For liquefaction, the new maps will supplement the existing regional liquefaction maps that are already shown on LIMs.

LIMs will include a statement noting that these maps are currently in draft and are based on available data.

The draft landslide and liquefaction assessments and maps will be updated as needed, including when the peer review process is completed and when significant new data is available. They are being released in their draft state because the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) requires councils to publish the information once it is known.

“Once finalised, we are looking to include these hazards in the District Plan, which directs how we change, develop and use our land and environment. This will include new maps and rules in the plan that will need to be followed when building in these areas.

“We are hoping to have a draft of the changes to the District Plan out for comment in the coming months and these maps will be used as part of the consultation process.

“Our District Plan is already best-practice by having a risk-based framework for managing a range of natural hazards – flooding, fault rupture, tsunami and coastal erosion and inundation. However, our understanding of landslides and liquefaction in Porirua wasn’t initially detailed enough to map these in the District Plan, so we’re now working to add those in,” says Nicola.

For more information about hazards in Porirua, visit our page Responding to natural hazards. The maps will be on our GIS page in the coming weeks.

Fire crews supported by aircraft are back at work to fully contain the fire in the Tongariro National Park.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand has 30 firefighters on the ground and four helicopters with monsoon buckets this morning, with a full incident management team. Fixed wing aircraft are on standby to join the air attack if needed.

Incident Controller Assistant Commander Renee Potae says that conditions were favourable overnight and crews only had to deal with one hotspot. The fire is 50 percent contained and remains at 322 hectares with an 8.5km perimeter.

The fire is contained on the northern flank where it meets the area burnt in last month’s fire. The wind is forecast to change direction this morning, which will push it towards unburnt vegetation and may cause flare-ups in areas that were burnt yesterday. “We have planned for that and are consolidating that flank,” Renee Potae says.

Manawhenua Ngāti Hikairo and the Department of Conservation are working closely with the incident management team, and there is a high level of interest from the community, and particularly all those who were significantly impacted by the last fire.

SH47 from Waimarino to Tongariro is closed between the intersections of SH46 and SH48. We ask people to stay well away from the area and respect all road closures and detours.

About 80% of nurses working in primary health care have considered leaving their jobs in the past six months a survey by Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO has found.

NZNO recently conducted a survey of its members working in primary health care (see findings below). Of those, 30% said they frequently thought about leaving the sector, 31% had occasionally thought about leaving and 19% said they had thought about leaving once or twice.

NZNO primary health care spokesperson Tracey Morgan says it’s not surprising 80% of respondents have thought about leaving the sector when 78% say their workload has increased in the past few years.

“Primary health care in Aotearoa New Zealand is in crisis. Patients and whānau are often unable to get in to see their doctor or nurse for several weeks, leaving them sicker by the time they can get the health care they need.

“One of the main drivers of this crisis is chronic staff shortages. Nurses are leaving general practices to work in hospitals, where they earn up to 11% more (see table below), or for Australia where they are paid significantly more. Our survey found 42% had thought about going overseas.

“Our communities deserve accessible care, and our nurses deserve fair pay,” she says.

“Primary care nurses had been hoping a Pay Equity settlement would correct the undervaluation of their work, but the Coalition Government decision to scrap the legislation means their wages will stay lower for longer.”

There’s now agreement from both the Coalition Government and the Opposition that the primary health care funding model is broken, Tracey Morgan says.

“NZNO welcomes the focus on primary health care but there must be a bipartisan commitment and approach to creating a sustainable new funding model. That funding model must ensure that primary care nurses are paid the same as their Te Whatu Ora counterparts. Only then will they stop leaving primary health care,” Tracey Morgan says.

Firefighters will remain on the Tongariro National Park fireground overnight to respond to any flare ups, with active firefighting resuming in the morning. Air operations finished at 8.30pm.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s Incident Controller, Assistant Commander Renee Potae, says three crews with a tanker will be working through the night, supported by the command unit.

A reconnaissance flight at 9pm assessed that the fire has burnt 322ha of alpine vegetation with a perimeter of 8.5km. The fire is 50 percent contained. No structures have been damaged.

“Fortunately, the fire has moved towards the area which was burnt last month, and this has enabled the aircraft to contain the southern flank of the fire,” Assistant Commander Potae says.

A wind change forecast for the morning could cause flare ups, and potentially push the fire into unburnt vegetation. Incoming crews and pilots will be briefed on this first thing in the morning.

Fire and Emergency is advising other residents in the vicinity of the fire to avoid exposure to smoke from the fire by keeping their doors and windows closed.

SH47 from Waimarino to Tongariro is closed between the intersections of SH46 and SH48. We ask people to stay well away from the area and respect all road closures and detours.

Fire and Emergency is working closely with the Department of Conservation and Manawhenua. The Department of Conservation is providing updates on the status of its tracks and access to other parts of the Tongariro National Park.

Aggressive air attack and ground operations against the fire in the Tongariro National Park will continue until dusk, as efforts continue to bring the fire under control.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand Director of Operations, Brendan Nally, says that the fire is estimated to have burnt 322 hectares and is about 25 percent contained.

About 60 firefighters with 16 fire trucks supported by helicopters are working into the evening, with additional helicopters on the way. An incident management team has been established.

“We are hitting the fire hard and making the most of the daylight to try and get it contained,” Brendan Nally says.

Fire and Emergency is working closely with the Department of Conservation and Manawhenua, who are the managers and custodians of the whenua (land) and its sensitive environment and wahi tapu (sacred sites).

“We know that the community is anxious, as this comes so soon after last month’s fire in the same area. It’s particularly difficult for the people who live in the area and those who depend on the Maunga for their livelihood,” Brendan Nally says.

“We are planning for several days of operations. The objective is to contain the fire and then put it out.” Fixed wing aircraft will be joining the air attack tomorrow along with fresh crews of firefighters.

Brendan Nally says a fire investigation is underway, but initial indications are that it was not caused intentionally. “It’s understandable that people want to know how this fire started and they deserve facts, not rumours. We are working with Police to confirm the origin and cause of the fire and will provide more information when it is available.”

The Department of Conservation has asked visitors to leave Whakapapa Village as a precaution and has closed the Whakapapa Village tracks. Residents of the village have been advised to prepare for possible evacuation.

Fire and Emergency is advising other residents in the vicinity of the fire to avoid exposure to smoke from the fire by keeping their doors and windows closed.

SH47 from Waimarino to Tongariro is closed between the intersections of SH46 and SH48.

• Fire at will to become new reality for workers

The Government’s all out assault on the rights of working New Zealanders has been laid bare by the report back today on the Employment Relations Amendment Bill.

Aside from some minor changes, the Education and Workforce Committee report back on the bill marks the most damaging attack on workers’ rights since the Employment Contracts Act in the 1990s.

“The Bill strips away fundamental protections that have been the bedrock of fair employment for twenty-five years,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

“It is a radical change in workplaces up and down New Zealand – it’s plain and simple a power grab by employers at the expense of workers.

“We heard all this rubbish about 'labour market flexibility' in the 1990s under the Employment Contracts Act. It drove down wages, eroded conditions, and made working New Zealanders worse off and now the Government is dragging us back to those dark days.

“This Bill effectively guts the personal grievance system and makes fire-at-will a reality for every worker in this country.”

Workers who want to take a personal grievance will lose the right to compensation if they contributed in any way to the situation – even a minor contribution means no remedy at all and employers will have no trouble finding a contribution to avoid paying out a worker.

Any worker earning over $200,000 loses the right to challenge an unjustified dismissal. 

“The personal grievance system exists to protect workers from unfair treatment and hold employers accountable. It shouldn’t matter how much you are paid. It’s a fundamental right. This Bill tears that protection to shreds,” said FItzsimons.

“This puts New Zealand in the same tent as countries like the United States where workers can be fired without cause and have no right of redress.”

The 30-day rule is also being scrapped, meaning new workers will no longer automatically benefit from hard-won collective agreement terms while they decide whether to join the union or not.

“This is a direct attack on union membership and collective strength and an attempt to break unions and impose 90 day trials on workers.”

The Bill allows employers to decide a worker is a contractor, stripping them of sick leave, annual leave, and all statutory protections – with no recourse to challenge that decision.

“This Government is now letting Uber write laws for all New Zealanders.

“Workers can have all their rights stripped away by their employer's say-so. It's unconscionable.

“Working New Zealanders deserve better than a Government that treats them as disposable and strips away their basic rights at work.

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.

Five helicopters and multiple crews are working to extinguish a large vegetation fire near Tongariro National Park.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews were first alerted to the fire, which is now 110 hectares in size, around 1.10pm.

There are 10 trucks and six support vehicles in attendance working alongside the helicopters.

Crews from National Park, Owhango, Whakapapa, Ruapehu Rural, Waimarino Rural, Turangi, Southern Lake Taupo Rural and Whanganui are in attendance.

The fire is on the eastern side of State Highway 47 in the vicinity of Tongariro National Park.

Police have advised that the road between State Highway 48 and Mangatepopo Road is now closed. Motorists are advised to avoid the area and expect delays. 

This year on Tuesday 10 December, the Sky Tower will be lit up yellow in honour of Human Rights Day, which commemorates the anniversary of one of the world’s most groundbreaking global pledges.

Every year, people around the globe mark this pivotal moment for humanity – the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. It was the first time that countries agreed on the rights that deserve universal protection for everyone, everywhere to live with dignity.

Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand is part of a 10 million-strong global movement of people who stand for universal access to fairness, justice, dignity, expression and inclusion – our essential rights. Standing together, our shared humanity holds the power to create change.

Jacqui Dillon, Kaiwhakahaere Matua | Executive Director of Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand, said, “We’re thrilled to see the iconic Sky Tower lighting up as beacon for humanity.

“Amnesty International’s colour is yellow, and our symbol is a candle, which is a statement of hope. As the phrase goes, it’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

“On Human Rights Day, the Sky Tower may well be Earth’s biggest candle. It’s inspiring to see such a display of Aotearoa New Zealand’s collective commitment to living with care and respect for each other.

“Globally, authoritarian practices are on the rise. In contrast and defiance of this, we must embrace human rights here in Aotearoa as a catalyst for solidarity and positive transformation.

“Aotearoa New Zealand is in the first time zone to celebrate this critical moment for global human rights, so we’re looking forward to showing the rest of the world how humanity shines here as the day progresses around the globe on the 10th,” said Dillon.

As the Sky Tower lights up, Amnesty International will be celebrating human rights and asking people to get involved by going to BEHUMAN.NZ

In honour of its 60 years of operating in Aotearoa, the organisation is appealing for 60 extraordinary people to make transformational gifts of $5000 and over. These people – known as Amnesty Candles – enable vital domestic human rights work, as well as supporting global campaigns to free prisoners of conscience, demand accountability for atrocity crimes, promote climate justice, advocate for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and more.