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Defence News – NZDF air and maritime assets combine for successful search and rescue operation south of Tonga

Source: New Zealand Defence Force

The New Zealand Defence Force has combined its maritime and air assets to conduct a search and rescue operation for two men drifting in a wooden boat 105 nautical miles south of Tonga.

The two men were located by a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P-8A Poseidon yesterday morning and were then recovered on board the Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Canterbury last night.

The P-8A had been en route to conduct maritime surveillance operations for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the South West Pacific when it was diverted to conduct the search for the missing boat.

Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre requested the aircraft crew search for the boat after it was reported overdue.

The crew on board the 11.5-metre wooden boat named Mysterious Wonder were reported to have left Tongatapu, Tonga on 8 February. Authorities were notified on Tuesday that the vessel was missing.

The P-8A crew flew to Fiji to base overnight before starting the search Wednesday morning. They found the boat at 10.15am. The call then went out to HMNZS Canterbury to rescue the men and bring them to safety.

Commander Wayne Andrew, the Commanding Officer of HMNZS Canterbury, said the ship launched a sea boat, rescuing the two men late yesterday evening.

“This was an excellent combined effort to locate and rescue the crew members,” he said.

“The P-8A crew did a fantastic job locating the vessel in a large search area about 105 nautical miles south of Tonga. We were fortunate to be in a position to be able to assist the two men.”

HMNZS Canterbury recently completed a successful trip to Tokelau supporting Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Cindy Kiro to mark the centenary of New Zealand administration of Tokelau. The ship was en route to the Kermadec Islands before it turned around to assist with the rescue.

The two men were flown to Tonga this morning on a RNZAF NH90 helicopter embarked on HMNZS Canterbury.

The ship will today resume passage to Raoul Island, to assist MetService and Earth Sciences New Zealand personnel to carry out upgrade and maintenance tasks of critical weather, tsunami and volcano monitoring equipment and facilities.

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Environment – Seabed mining company TTR gives up on the Fast Track process – Greenpeace

Source: Greenpeace

Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) have today issued their formal response to the Fast Track Expert Panel’s draft decision, in it, they say they will not propose any changes to conditions. There is now nothing stopping the panel from making a final decision to decline consent.
TTR go on to say they reject the “assumptions and conclusions” of the panel that the evidence TTR provided around potential environmental impacts were “uncertain, incomplete or inadequate”. 
Greenpeace Aotearoa seabed mining campaigner Juressa Lee says:
“It’s clear that TTR knows their project fails to meet even the pro-industry Fast Track Act process and are fast running out of options to get their doomed project across the line. TTR even suggests the panel misunderstands the application, an arrogant dismissal of the panel, the months they have dedicated to careful deliberation, and the wealth of expertise that has been provided to ensure the decision is well-informed.”In its draft decision released earlier this month, the expert panel ruled that seabed mining in Taranaki would harm threatened species like pygmy blue whales and penguins, and could not be safely managed.
“This is, in part, the result of a united position from all eight iwi of Taranaki, as well as expert witnesses who submitted on behalf of Greenpeace and Kiwis Against Seabed Mining (KASM),” says Lee. 
“It’s also what mana whenua, communities and environmental groups have been saying for decades: Seabed mining will cause irreversible harm to the moana and there is no place for this industry in Aotearoa.
“It’s time political leaders took bold action and stopped seabed mining once and for all by banning it in Aotearoa,” Lee continues.
The panel declined TTR’s proposal in February, finding seabed mining would harm threatened species like pygmy blue whales and penguins, and could not be safely managed. It will make its final decision before 18 March.
“It’s clear TTR is out of ideas. They have been defeated time and time again all the way up to the Supreme Court. The evidence is clear. There is no place for seabed mining in Aotearoa.
“The resistance to seabed mining is strong and unyielding. Iwi, environmentalists, community groups, and ocean protectors have been fighting for decades and any attempt to start seabed mining in Aotearoa will be met with further resistance.”
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Law and Health – Momentum for change on HIV criminalisation

Source: Burnett Foundation Aotearoa

A study of people living with HIV has revealed that despite advances in HIV treatment, criminalisation continues to create uncertainty and distress, with 60% of people living with HIV fearing legal consequences and many avoiding relationships altogether.
The full study and its findings will be released at a public event on 27 February at 3 pm at the Ellen Melville Centre in Auckland, by Positive Women, Body Positive, Toitū te Ao and Burnett Foundation Aotearoa.
The study surveying 247 people living with HIV in New Zealand, highlights the urgent need for rules and practice to align with modern HIV science. Over half of participants reported anxiety about legal consequences, particularly around disclosing HIV or discussing sexual practices with healthcare service providers.
“This shows that people living with HIV want to see HIV transmission managed by Public Health authorities, and not the Police. We have one of the highest rates of HIV criminalisation per capita globally, with at least 14 prosecutions since 1993,” says Liz Gibbs CEO of Burnett Foundation Aotearoa.
“The Government’s decision to sign the U=U Call to Action at Big Gay Out 2026 is a great first step in bringing New Zealand into line with overseas best practices on how to manage HIV.”
U = U stands for Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U). It means that a person living with HIV who is on effective treatment and maintains an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV to sexual partner(s).
“Currently people living with HIV may face prosecution under the Crimes Act for HIV non-disclosure to their sexual partners (unless they are using a condom), even if they are on treatment with an undetectable viral load and therefore pose zero risk of transmission,” says Gibbs.
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Appointments – eG Innovations Launches New Zealand Operations, Appoints Joanne Bowey as Country Manager

Source: eG Innovations

Auckland, New Zealand – 19th Feb, 2026
eG Innovations, a global provider of digital experience monitoring and full-stack observability solutions, today announced the launch of its operations in New Zealand and the appointment of Joanne Bowey as Country Manager, reinforcing the company’s commitment to supporting New Zealand enterprises with reliable, high-performance digital services.
With a surge in hybrid work initiatives, cloud adoption, and digital service delivery, IT operations teams in New Zealand face growing complexity, tool sprawl, and rising operational costs. eG Innovations’ local presence aims to help enterprises simplify monitoring, improve service availability, and resolve performance issues faster across increasingly complex IT environments.
With over 20 years of experience working with cloud technology providers across the ANZ region, Joanne Bowey will focus on building strong relationships with local customers, partners, and managed service providers.
“New Zealand is a strategic market for eG Innovations as organisations place greater emphasis on digital experience, operational efficiency, and service reliability,” said Srinivas Ramanathan, CEO of eG Innovations. “Joanne’s deep understanding of the local market and customer challenges will be instrumental in helping New Zealand enterprises achieve better outcomes from their IT investments.”
“New Zealand organisations are looking for monitoring solutions that reduce complexity rather than add to it,” said Joanne Bowey, Country Manager, New Zealand, eG Innovations. “My focus is on helping local enterprises and service providers gain clear visibility across their digital environments, cut through tool sprawl, and deliver consistent, high-quality digital experiences for employees and customers.”
This launch aligns with New Zealand organisations’ focus on service availability, hybrid work enablement, faster incident resolution, and IT cost control. eG Innovations supports these goals with unified visibility across IT stacks, enabling IT teams to identify and resolve issues before they impact users.
As part of its New Zealand strategy, eG Innovations will focus on:
  • Building a strong local partner ecosystem
  • Supporting enterprise and government digital initiatives
  • Enabling managed service providers with advanced monitoring capabilities
  • Delivering localised customer success and support services
eG Innovations will also participate in the CIO Leaders Summit NZ, taking place at the Viaduct Events Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland on 23-24 March 2026, where the company will engage with senior IT leaders on the challenges of managing digital experience at scale.
About eG Innovations
eG Innovations is a global leader in digital experience monitoring and full-stack observability. Its flagship product, eG Enterprise, helps organisations ensure high performance and availability across complex hybrid IT environments by providing deep visibility, intelligent diagnostics, and proactive issue resolution. eG Innovations supports customers worldwide across industries including finance, healthcare, government, retail, and manufacturing.
For more information, visit https://www.eginnovations.com.
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Local News – Have your say on the future of Spicer Landfill – Porirua

Source: Porirua City Council

Consents to operate Spicer Landfill are set to expire in 2030 so the way we dispose of rubbish in Porirua has to change. Consultation on four options for the future of Spicer Landfill begins on Tuesday 24 February.
Previous plans to extend the landfill are on hold as a range environmental challenges mean new consents are unlikely to be granted.
Today Council officers presented elected members with four options for the future and received the green light to consult the community on which one will be best for the city.
Porirua Mayor Anita Baker encouraged residents and landfill users to give their input so the Council can develop a preferred solution.
Mayor Baker says the status quo is just not an option.
“The landfill is much closer to neighbouring properties than desirable, meaning issues like odour are amplified. There are also ongoing environmental effects, geotechnical risk, and cultural impacts for Ngāti Toa Rangatira.
“We have no choice but to do things differently and unfortunately that will come at a cost, with increases to rates bills under every option. What varies in each option is who can dump rubbish at Spicer, how much they pay to dump it and the impacts on the environment.”
David Down, Council’s Waste Manager, says currently Spicer Landfill is a big income earner for the Council, paying for its own operational costs and generating an annual surplus of around $4 million. This surplus is used to reduce rates by 4-5%.
“Each option has significant financial implications for rates and increased costs for disposing of rubbish,” he says.
Spicer Landfill receives general waste from Porirua and the wider Wellington region. It was established in 1976 as a joint venture between Porirua City Council and the then Tawa Borough Council, now Wellington City Council, who retain an interest in the landfill.
Consultation options
Three of the options provide waste transfer station services on the same site. The fourth option, option D, would see the landfill closed entirely and no replacement service at all. The options are:
Option A: Public refuse transfer station
This option would provide a facility for residents and small businesses (with cars, utes, trailers, vans and small trucks) to drop off waste that is then transported to another landfill. There would still be recycling drop-offs and green waste services.
Option B: Public and heavy vehicle refuse transfer station
Similar to option A but with more space so commercial waste from large trucks can also be dropped off, with all waste then transported to another landfill.
Option C: Public and heavy vehicle refuse transfer station with clean fill disposal
This is the same as option B, with waste transported to another landfill, but option C would also have a clean fill landfill, which is limited to accepting earthworks or inert material such as soils, clays, rocks, and gravel – materials that aren’t hazardous or that create odour.
Option D: Close Spicer Landfill in 2030 with no replacement service
This option would see Spicer Landfill close at the end of June 2030 when the resource consents expire. There would be no alternative service provided by the Council and customers would need to travel to a transfer station or landfill elsewhere in the Wellington region to dispose of waste.
Kerbside collection services would still be available regardless of the option chosen.
Have your say
Consultation opens on 24 February and closes at 11.59pm on Wednesday 25 March 2026. Have your say by going to poriruacity.govt.nz/landfill-options or picking up a copy of the consultation document from one the city’s libraries or at the front counter of Porirua City Council, 16 Cobham Court.
Further consultation on the interim preferred option next year, as part of the Long-term Plan consultation in 2027, will inform the Council’s final decision on whether to proceed with the preferred option or a different option.
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Fonterra farmers approve divestment capital return scheme

Source: Fonterra
 
Following today’s virtual Special Meeting, Fonterra can confirm that its farmer shareholders have approved the scheme of arrangement for the capital return that’s expected from the sale of its global Consumer and associated businesses.
 
98.85% of the total shareholder votes cast were in support of the capital return proposal, which was set out in the Notice of Meeting for the Special Meeting.
 
Today’s result means Fonterra can now seek final Court approval to undertake the capital return of $2.00 per share to shareholders and unit holders, subject to the divestment of Mainland Group to Lactalis being completed.
 
Fonterra expects the transaction to be complete in the first quarter of the 2026 calendar year, subject to separation of the businesses from Fonterra and provided the remaining regulatory approvals are received within the expected timeframes.
 
Once these steps have been completed, the Co-operative will confirm the record date for the capital return, which will be within the five business days prior to the capital return payment being made to shareholders and unit holders.
 
About Fonterra  
 
Fonterra is a co-operative owned and supplied by thousands of farming families across Aotearoa New Zealand. Through the spirit of co-operation and a can-do attitude, Fonterra’s farmers and employees share the goodness of our milk through innovative consumer, foodservice and ingredients brands. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re committed to leaving things in a better way than we found them. We are passionate about supporting our communities byDoing Good Together.  
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Economy – OCR decision dates and Financial Stability Report dates to February 2028 – Reserve Bank of NZ

Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand

19 February 2026 – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will increase the number of scheduled monetary policy decisions from 7 to 8 per year, starting in 2027.

The Monetary Policy Committee has discussed the upcoming increase in the frequency of Consumers Price Index (CPI) data releases. From next year, CPI data is set to be published on a monthly basis, rather than quarterly. Due to this, the Committee believes it is appropriate to move to 8 scheduled decisions.

To accommodate an 8 decision schedule, the previously announced February 2027 decision date has been moved a week earlier.

While we have set dates out to February 2028, the Monetary Policy Committee can make unscheduled decisions at any time, should financial or economic conditions warrant it, and have done so in the past.

Our Financial Stability Reports will continue to be released twice a year, in May and November.

Monetary policy and OCR dates

DateAnnouncement
2026
8 April Monetary Policy Review and OCR
27 May Monetary Policy Statement and OCR
8 July Monetary Policy Review and OCR
2 September Monetary Policy Statement and OCR
28 October Monetary Policy Review and OCR
9 December Monetary Policy Statement and OCR
2027
10 FebruaryMonetary Policy Review and OCR
17 MarchMonetary Policy Statement and OCR
5 May Monetary Policy Review and OCR
16 JuneMonetary Policy Statement and OCR
4 AugustMonetary Policy Review and OCR
15 SeptemberMonetary Policy Statement and OCR
27 October Monetary Policy Review and OCR
8 DecemberMonetary Policy Statement and OCR
2028
9 FebruaryMonetary Policy Review and OCR
 

Financial Stability Report announcement dates

DateAnnouncement
 2027
12 MayFSR
10 November      FSR

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Business price indexes: December 2025 quarter – Stats NZ information release

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Economy – There’s still time to assess the effects of prior OCR cuts – Cotality

Source: Cotality – Commentary by Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson

As widely expected, the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, under new Governor Anna Breman, held the official cash rate unchanged at 2.25% today. This was firmly in line with the forward guidance from the previous meeting in November and it reflects the expectation that spare capacity in the economy should ultimately pull inflation back down again.
Many of the key economic forecasts released today were essentially unchanged from three months ago. The RBNZ expects the economy to expand by just short of 3% this year, with employment rising consistently and the unemployment rate edging down from 5.4% to 5.0% by the end of 2026. CPI inflation may already be back within the 1-3% target band this quarter.
The decision also noted that “if the economy evolves as expected, monetary policy is likely to remain accommodative for some time”. 
This suggests no immediate rush to bump up the OCR. Even so, the forecast track was ‘pulled forward’ a little, pointing to the probability of a rate rise late this year rather than early next year, as previously indicated. This really just endorses what financial markets and many commentators had already been suggesting was likely to happen and reflects the Bank’s suggestion that “settings will gradually normalise”.
For the housing market, it also just remains a case of waiting to see how a range of conflicting forces play out. On one hand, although banks have already been pushing small moves in some mortgage rates lately, generally they remain fairly stable and much lower than before. This will be supporting property sales activity and house prices.
By contrast, however, a cautious attitude still prevails across the market, and it’s difficult to see a sharp turnaround for activity or prices until jobs growth picks up and the unemployment rate falls more emphatically. This looks set to be a story for later in 2026 rather than sooner.
Indeed, the RBNZ itself predicts that property values could even fall a bit further in the next 3-6 months before edging higher later this year. They could end up flat for 2026 as a whole and only rise by 3.0% in 2027. 
Based on the recent rise in physical housing stock versus population, and also the new restraint of debt to income ratio caps, it’s hard to disagree too much with those modest expectations.
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University Research – Lab discovery offers hope for lymphoedema – UoA

Source: University of Auckland – UoA

A newly discovered molecule shows promise for treating painful lymphoedema.

Scientists have made a breakthrough that could lead to effective treatments for lymphoedema, a painful swelling condition for which there is currently no cure.

Lymphoedema can be congenital or caused by an injury, but it mostly occurs as an unintended consequence following breast-cancer treatment.

It occurs when the lymphatic system, which moves fluid throughout the body via specialised vessels, is damaged, leading to fluid accumulation in tissues.

“Our group of researchers has discovered a new molecule and pathway that together promote lymphatic vessel growth,” says Dr Jonathan Astin, a senior lecturer in molecular medicine and pathology in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland. See Cell Reports.

“We initially made this discovery in zebrafish but have also shown that the factor works in human lymphatic cells.”

The scientists discovered the growth-promoting molecule, known as ‘insulin-like growth factor’, or IGF, accelerates the growth of lymphatic vessels in zebrafish, so has potential to repair damaged vessels.

They then worked with a University colleague, senior research fellow Dr Justin Rustenhoven, to grow human cells in the lab and found the IGF, could also ‘instruct’ human lymphatic vessels to grow.

“This work is of interest to the medical community as it provides an additional way to induce lymphatic vessel growth,” says Astin.

“This is especially important for people with lymphoedema. In Aotearoa New Zealand, approximately 20 percent of women who have lymph nodes removed as part of breast-cancer treatment will develop lymphoedema, and currently there is no cure.”

There is another molecule, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), that also promotes the growth of lymphatic vessels; the IGF molecule may work together with VEGF to promote the growth of lymphatic vessels, says Astin.

The work was conducted in Astin’s lab by then doctoral student Dr Wenxuan Chen and involved collaborations with Dr Kate Lee, Dr Justin Rustenhoven and Professor Stefan Bohlander, all in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, as well as a lab in the US.

“We use fish primarily because they're very simple, but they're still remarkably similar to us,” Astin says.

“The advantage of using fish is we can fluorescently label lymphatic vessels so that they glow and then image vessel growth in a whole larva or embryo and not impact its growth at all.

“We can just watch it grow, and things happen much quicker in a fish, because they develop much faster.”

The next step will be to test an IGF‑based therapy on mice with lymphoedema to see whether it helps.

Astin is cautious about promising too much but says this holds the potential to become a therapy for this painful, incurable condition in the future.

Read about ‘openness in the use of animals for research’: http://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/research/about-our-research/openness-in-animal-research.html