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Climate News – Earth Sciences’ Summer Climate Outlook

Source: Earth Sciences New Zealand

The Seasonal Climate Outlook for December.
Highlights:
– Moderate La Niña conditions are present in the tropical Pacific but a rapid weakening of La Niña conditions is expected over summer
– High pressure will be an increasingly common occurrence as December progresses
– Dryness is a concern from mid-December and into January
– An increased risk of significant heavy rain events in late summer, primarily for the North Island.
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Local Reform – Rates cap plan recipe for privatisation, job cuts and higher charges says local government union – PSA

Source: PSA

The Government's plan to cap council rates is a recipe for asset sell-offs, job losses and higher user charges that will hit households and communities harder than rates ever did.
“Rates caps will backfire and hurt the very communities they are supposed to help,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi, which represents local government workers.
“Rates caps are lazy politics that will damage New Zealand. International evidence is clear. Rates caps starve councils of revenue, forcing them to privatise community assets, slash staff and impose new charges for services that used to be covered by rates.
“The only winners are private companies which get to buy up public assets on the cheap and then charge communities more to use them.
“This is a cheap slogan that will cost communities far more – through higher separate charges for swimming pools, libraries, rubbish collection and other services that are funded through rates.
“When councils are stopped from raising enough revenue, staff cuts inevitably follow. Our members who everyday support communities with vital services – maintaining parks, fixing pipes, running libraries – will be first in the firing line.
“This will prevent councils from raising the money needed to fix decades of underinvestment. You can't defer infrastructure maintenance forever – eventually the pipes burst and the cost of catch-ups will skyrocket.
“New Zealand already has a massive multi-billion dollar infrastructure deficit because councils have historically kept rate rises too low. A mandatory cap will only deepen that deficit and push critical repairs further into the future.
“This is a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It doesn’t fix the fundamental problem that councils don’t generate enough revenue.
“If the Government was serious about keeping costs down for ratepayers, it should give councils other funding tools like sharing GST revenue or tourism levies rather than forcing them into asset sales and service cuts.
“Just like the cuts to public services across New Zealand, this is another short-sighted decision that’s prioritising political slogans over the long-term needs of communities.”
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.
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Health and Employment – Crest Hospital staff strike over collective disagreement – NZNO

Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation

Crest Hospital staff, who are members of NZNO, will strike tomorrow (Tuesday, 2 December) over the employer’s refusal to allow lower paid workers to join their collective.
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) delegate and nurse Susan Norma White says that while she’s been offered a less than the cost-of-living increase, that’s not why she’s striking.
“Until now, I’ve never felt the need to strike in my 51 years as a nurse. But Crest is blocking my lower-paid colleagues from joining our collective and wants to keep paying them less than public hospitals.
“I think the public will be surprised to hear private hospitals pay some staff less than public hospitals do.
“It should concern everyone that Te Whatu Ora MidCentral is outsourcing to a private hospital paying up to $7 an hour less than they’re offering their own staff.”
NZNO delegate and orderly Vicki Woodfield says all staff matter, whether they are an anaesthetic technician, nurse, sterile science technician, or administrator.
“Crest won't let orderlies join the collective to have a say over our pay and conditions but wants us to accept up to $5.60 an hour less than public hospitals.
“The company is only offering us a living wage on the condition we agree not to join the collective and meet some performance criteria.”
Woodfield says staff are particularly upset anaesthetic technicians have been told they can join the collective only if union members agree administrators, orderlies and theatre aids are not.
The strike will start at 2pm at 21 Carroll Street, Palmerston North, with staff marching to the corner of Grey and Carroll streets before finishing at 4pm.
Mediation between Crest and NZNO is scheduled for this Wednesday (3 December).
NZNO will hold a second short strike next Friday (12 December).
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PSA welcomes external review of Public Service Commission strike adverts – PM now needs to intervene in health dispute

Source: PSA

The PSA welcomes the Public Service Commission undertaking an external review of its controversial Facebook advertising campaign during October's health strikes.
The Public Service Commission Te Kawa Mataaho spent public money on social media adverts targeting striking health workers just days before the historic industrial action on 23 October.
The external review follows a complaint from Labour MP Camilla Belich to the Auditor-General who said that the issue of public spending on advertising raised significant constitutional issues about political neutrality. See response from Auditor-General here: https://www.oag.parliament.nz/2025/social-media-ads
“This review shouldn’t be necessary if the Commission had correctly weighed how its inappropriate actions in the first place undermined its political neutrality – it was a damaging lapse of judgement,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“A politically neutral public service is of paramount importance in our democracy. Using public funds to run adverts against striking workers crossed a line and it’s pleasing the Auditor General agrees that an external review is warranted after its initial scrutiny of the campaign.
“This situation could have been avoided entirely if the Commission had been genuinely committed to good faith bargaining with health unions rather than running public relations campaigns.
“The real waste here isn't just the money spent on these inappropriate adverts – it's the ongoing failure to resolve the very issues driving health workers to strike in the first place.
“Following last week's latest industrial action, it's clear these disputes remain unresolved. The Prime Minister needs to step in now, show leadership and direct the Commission to settle these negotiations fairly.
“Health workers are standing up for a properly funded public health system. New Zealanders deserve better than a government that spends money on adverts instead of listening to the concerns of health workers who see a system under strain every day.”
Response from Auditor-General to Labour MP Camilla Belich – Decision to purchase social media advertisements
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.
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PSNA Statement: National protest to highlight Peters/Collins cowardice to Trump

Source: Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)

Palestine solidarity supporters from around the country will be marching on parliament next Wednesday, 10 December, to protest government complicity with the US/Israeli genocide in Gaza.

“Despite the so-called ceasefire, Israel continues its daily slaughter of Palestinians” says PSNA Co-Chair Maher Nazzal. “The theft of Palestinian land, building new illegal Israeli settlements and entrenching apartheid policies are going on day by day without a murmur from our government”.

They have sold-out the Palestinian people.

Foreign Minister Peters and Defence Minister Collins have a long history of hero-worship of the US and have seized the chance under Luxon’s weak leadership to align New Zealand tightly with the chief genocide enabler.

“Brown-nosing” the US by ignoring the ongoing killing in Gaza is a betrayal of New Zealand and New Zealand values.

New Zealand has quietly extended the New Zealand Defence Force deployment to help recolonise Gaza for western interests. We don’t even get lip service for Palestine now – just collusion with genocide. (ref. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/nzdf-liaison-officer-deployment-israel-extended )

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Weather News – An active start to summer – MetService

Source: MetService

Covering period of Monday 1st – Thursday 4th December

  • Widespread rain and possible thunderstorms for the North Island Tuesday and Wednesday
  • Strong winds possible for upper North Island mid-week
  • Humid air ahead of a low, followed by a cooler southerly change
  • Improving weather for most areas on Thursday.

It may be the start of meteorological summer, but an active week is ahead. This week will bring a broad range of weather; heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds, and sunny spells to finish the week off. The North Island is in for a warm and humid start, while the south will see cooler temperatures throughout.

We start the week with comparatively settled conditions; some cloud and showers for western areas, with sunny spells elsewhere. The likes of Gisborne and Hastings are making the most of their sunny start to the summer season, with temperatures expected to top out at 29 and 31 degrees respectively today (Monday).

On Tuesday a low is expected to develop in the Tasman Sea and move toward the country through Tuesday evening. This will bring a period of unsettled weather for many regions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and into early Thursday, with heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms likely across the North Island.

MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden says, “That low deepens rapidly and pulls a warm moist sub-tropical airmass across the county during Tuesday afternoon and evening. It’ll bring widespread rain, strong southwesterly winds and the risk of thunderstorms for many parts of the North Island, including Northland, Auckland and Coromandel.”

While the North Island may be in for the brunt of it, the South Island gets its share of the weather too. A trough is expected to bring rain through Monday night and Tuesday, followed by cool southwesterlies. The upper parts of the South Island may also see a period of heavier rain on Wednesday associated with the low to the north.

The low gradually moves off to the southeast on Wednesday night, and conditions will ease behind it, before starting to clear through Thursday morning, with many places seeing drier weather and some sunshine return. However, strong to gale southwesterly winds will persist, particularly for Wellington, Wairarapa, Northland and Auckland; they will keep the temperatures capped as we round out the week.
 
Stay up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings at metservice.com, or on the MetService app.

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Events – Biggest Waka Ama Event in Aotearoa Champions Whānau Health in 2026

Source: Waka Ama Aotearoa NZ (WAANZ)

Lake Karāpiro is set to host nearly 4,000 kaihoe from Sunday 11 January to Saturday 17 January as part of the 2026 Waka Ama Sprint Nationals. Supported by mana whenua Ngāti Korokī Kahukura and Ngāti Hauā, and organised by Waka Ama Aotearoa NZ (WAANZ), the annual event is expected to bring together tamariki, pakeke and kaumātua, including adaptive paddlers, in a celebration of hauora and kotahitanga.

During the seven-day event, crews will race in single-paddler (W1), six-paddler (W6) and twelve-paddler (W12) outrigger canoes over a variety of sprint distances. The 2025 championships, met a record number of participants — 3,875 paddlers, a near 20% increase over the prior year, and upwards of 10,000 supporters — a clear indicator of the growing popularity and reach of waka ama.

While 2026 focuses on whānau health, WAANZ Chief Executive Lara Collins says that health is a priority every year, and this time there will be a dedicated Hauora Hub to support the ongoing message and practices of whānau well being.

“Waka ama has always been more than just a sport, it’s a living expression of hauora whānau in all spaces. The 2026 Sprint Nationals embody that wairua, from first-time paddlers to seasoned crews. This event reminds us that waka ama truly is ‘mā te katoa, mō āke tonu’ — for all, for life.”

Hauora Hub stations will include The Heart Foundation, ACC, NZ Blood Services and more, offering whānau the opportunity to do health checks onsite at the event.

“Waka Ama Sprints Nationals has become a powerful intergenerational gathering. If we can get the whole whānau on the waka to health and well-being, by uplifting te whare tapawhā, then we are doing our job well,” says Collins.

2026 also marks world intents, where registered teams can qualify to represent Aotearoa at the 2026 World Club Sprint Championships in Singapore, this coming August. The opportunity to qualify and compete goes from J16s (13-16 years old), right through to Master 80 (80+). This year being the largest submissions of intents ever recorded by WAANZ, with more than 200 teams competing to claim a spot to represent Aotearoa in Singapore next year.  

With over 60% of paddlers aged 5-23 years at the 2025 event, Collins says 2026 is aiming for even more tamariki and rangatahi participation to continue the positive growth of the sport.

Event Information

11-17 January 2026, Lake Karāpiro.

Event Page: https://www.wakaama.co.nz/racecalendar/lookup/2304

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Peace Action Wellington Statement – NZ assists global surge of weapons sales

Source: Peace Action Wellington

New Zealand is assisting the global surge of weapons sales. Data about global weapons sales released today shows Lockheed Martin once again topping the list of arms dealers. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute compiles an annual list showing the top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in the world.
 
New Zealand is buying five new Seahawk maritime helicopters from the US for $400 million each. These are manufactured by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary. Australia recently paid $82m each for the same choppers.

“The former Chief of Defence Force, Kevin Short, is now Lockheed Martin NZ Director of Strategy & Business Development. He certainly is getting a great deal for Lockheed,” said Valerie Morse, member of Peace Action Wellington.
 
“Minister of War Judith Collins has committed $12 billion for new weapons purchases. She appears to happy to buy anything the US and Australia are using, at whatever cost. These new suite of weapons are primarily to assist the United States to wage an offensive war against the Chinese, and not for the territorial defence of New Zealand”

“A major part of the defence industry strategy includes the development of a home-grown space industry. This has been driven by Rocket Lab, a US-based company partly owned by Lockheed Martin.”
 
“Lockheed Martin with representatives like Kevin Short are selling New Zealand into a US-led war the while our hospitals, schools and public services crumble.”

Notes:
 

See the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute media statement here: https://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2025/sipri-top-100-arms-producers-see-combined-revenues-surge-states-rush-modernize-and-expand-arsenals

The SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in the world, 2024
https://www.sipri.org/visualizations/2025/sipri-top-100-arms-producing-and-military-services-companies-world-2024

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Awards – Christchurch Club Takes Home EXNZ Supreme Exercise Facility Award!

Source: ExerciseNZ

The Exercise New Zealand Industry Awards 2025 were held on Saturday 29 November in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, hosted at the luxurious Hilton on the vibrant waterfront. For over two decades, the Awards have shone a light on the incredible work happening across Aotearoa's exercise sector.

BodyFix Gym Christchurch has been awarded the prestigious Supreme Exercise Facility Award 2025. Selected from the top winners across four major categories; Chain/Group, Franchise, Independent, and Studio, the Supreme Award recognises the single most outstanding facility in the country each year.

This year, BodyFix Gym Christchurch claimed the title for its unwavering commitment to its mission, its strong and connected community, and the culture that underpins every part of the member experience.

From the moment visitors approach BodyFix, the facility sets a powerful first impression. The exterior is clean, bold, and inviting, setting the tone long before anyone steps inside. Guests are met with warm smiles on arrival, instantly creating a sense of belonging. Inside, the space strikes a rare balance: the warm, energetic atmosphere of a boutique gym combined with the comfort and familiarity of home. Quirky signage, character-filled knick-knacks, and unique artwork bring personality to every wall, while even the bathroom features thoughtful touches and uplifting messages that elevate the overall experience. The lively buzz of happy gym-goers reflects a space where people feel motivated, supported, and truly at ease.

Judges were especially impressed by the facility's clarity of purpose and deeply embedded values, noting:

“BodyFix carries a clear mission… to 'make a difference in people's lives.' They have seven defined values with specific behaviours, and these are strongly embedded into hiring, coaching, recognition, and leadership.”

This values-led approach is reflected in every aspect of the club—from structured programming to exceptional community engagement. Judges praised BodyFix's ethos of giving back, acknowledging that “community giving adds credibility.”

BodyFix's modern and innovative approach also stood out, with its digital strategy receiving specific commendation. The judging panel highlighted the club's forward-thinking use of modernisation and AI tools to improve member support and enhance overall service quality.

The gym's measurable success was equally compelling. Judges noted that BodyFix achieved all benchmarks within the first 90 days, describing the results as evidence of a well-run, high-performing organisation. Their structured campaigns to re-engage inactive or past members were also highlighted as a major strength:

“Great campaigns for reactivation.”

Leadership was identified as one of BodyFix's defining features, reflected in exceptional staff retention and a strong, stable team culture built over time:

“Values-based leadership was evident and supported by long-term staff retention.”

Through its clear mission, people-centred culture, creative and welcoming environment, and commitment to both innovation and community, BodyFix Gym Christchurch has demonstrated what excellence looks like for the exercise industry here in Aotearoa, making it a truly deserving winner of the Supreme Exercise Facility Award 2025.

At ExerciseNZ, we applaud the dedication, innovation, and people-centred approach displayed by BodyFix Gym Christchurch. Their commitment to uplifting members and community through a values-driven model has rightly earned them the Supreme Exercise Facility Award for 2025. These awards continue to showcase the remarkable contributions of individuals and organisations across Aotearoa, reinforcing exercise as a cornerstone of health and well-being. For more information on the Exercise New Zealand industry awards, or to view all finalists visit https://www.exercise.org.nz/2025-finalists/.

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Awards – Postpartum Specialist Awarded EXNZ Personal Trainer of the Year!

Source: ExerciseNZ

The Exercise New Zealand Industry Awards 2025 were held on Saturday 29 November in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, hosted at the luxurious Hilton on the vibrant waterfront. For over two decades, the Awards have shone a light on the incredible work happening across Aotearoa's exercise sector.

This year, Sierra Ryland's remarkable dedication to uplifting others has been recognised with the Personal Trainer of the Year Award for 2025. The Personal Trainer of the Year Award recognises professionals who demonstrate exceptional commitment, capability, and impact within their communities. Sierra's remarkable dedication to empowering women, and her specialised expertise in MumSafe training, postpartum running and female-specific performance has been recognised with the Personal Trainer of the Year Award for 2025.

Judges praised Sierra for her professionalism, resilience, and deep sense of purpose:

“Tēnā koe Sierra. Good to see the custom prescreens for this defined niche and resulting focused programmes. How you have managed to grow your business so successfully from a wheelchair and crutches is beyond me. And what an inspiring bunch of achievements. Well done.”

Sierra's dedication to client care was also highlighted as a defining strength:

“Your client care and purpose for helping others is evident throughout your application.”

Her technical capability was acknowledged too, particularly in programme design:

“Great breakdown of the side plank and its progressions and regressions… Overall, you've shown a strong connection to what your clients' motivators are and a firm awareness of your scope of practice.”

Sierra's story is one of resilience, determination, and genuine care for people. Her ability to overcome significant challenges while building a successful business and delivering meaningful outcomes for clients is a testament to her character and professionalism.

At ExerciseNZ, we celebrate Sierra's inspiring contribution to the exercise industry and congratulate her on being named Personal Trainer of the Year 2025. These awards continue to highlight the dedication of individuals and organisations committed to empowering New Zealanders through movement. For more information on the Exercise New Zealand industry awards, or to view all finalists visit https://www.exercise.org.nz/2025-finalists/.