Latest News
Weather: More heavy rain, but strong winds and warmer temperatures also forecast
After flooding across parts of the lower North Island, Taranaki and the West Coast of the South Island are forecast to get the next downpours.
Roads, parks and garages flooded across the Greater Wellington region, with areas such as Kāpiti, Hutt City, Featherston, Silverstream, Trentham, Porirua, Waiwhetu, Whitby, Stokes Valley and Naenae all affected.
Wellingtonians were warned to take extra care on the roads as rain continued on Tuesday morning. The region’s emergency management office said the weather has calmed overnight but roads were still wet.
Heavy rain is also expected in Auckland before easing to showers in the afternoon.
Hutt Valley High School was closed on Tuesday with classes moved online after heavy rain caused pipes to burst on Monday. In an email to families, principal Denise Johnson said work on the pipes was unsuccessful and when water pressure was applied the pipes blew apart again.
There was also surface flooding on school grounds. When she left the canteen was unreachable, water was flowing underneath the hall, and one school entrance couldn’t be used.
Porirua had a “one in 20 year” amount of rainfall, with other areas across the region facing a “one in five year” event, Wellington Region Emergency Management Office regional manager Jeremy Holmes said.
Westerlies would lead to three different stories in the week ahead, MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said.
First, heavy rain was expected, particularly in the western South Island and elevated parts of the North Island.
“The belt from Fiordland to Tasman will see little respite as weather systems cycle through, giving soils minimal time to dry out before the next wave hits,” said Makgabutlane.
An orange heavy rain warning was in place for Mount Taranaki, with a heavy rain watch in place for the rest of Taranaki, parts Buller and Tasman the Tararua Range on Tuesday morning.
Secondly, the country was approaching the windiest part of the year, with breezy westerlies.
“It will likely feel breezy for many of us, especially in the South Island and eastern and lower North Island,” said Makgabutlane.
“It’s a good time to secure any loose items, so they don’t end up in the neighbour’s yard!”
Lastly, those westerlies were forecast to bring warmer temperatures to the east, with some areas seeing temperatures in the upper teens, even reaching 20°C or higher.
“This could be the longest stretch of August days at or above 20°C for Napier,” she said.
“The warmer trend looks to extend into the nights as well, with double-digit minimum temperatures expected in the North Island and parts of the South Island, making frosty mornings a distant memory as winter comes to a close.”
Flooding, slips
A person walks through floodwaters on Toroa Road near the Otaihanga Domain. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
Several highways, including the Kāpiti train line, were forced to close on Monday but have since been reopened.
Kāpiti Coast resident Sam said he would be keeping a close eye on the next high tide at 2.50am on Tuesday, after a day of flooding.
Otaihanga Domain, north of Paraparaumu, and close to his house, was closed after becoming waterlogged.
Floodwaters were knee-high on some roads in the area.
Sam said he would be getting up early to make sure there were no more problems.
Meanwhile, a slip at Arnott Heights on Monday morning forced the closure of Milton Road in Greymouth, cutting off 50 homes.
The closure continued overnight, Grey District Council said.
A slip on Arnott Heights has forced the closure of Milton Road in Greymouth overnight on 26 August, 2024. Photo: Facebook / Grey District Council
Mayor Tania Gibson said it was still a very active situation and urged neighbouring communities to steer clear of the site.
Contractors had been on site overnight because it remained “precarious” and there would be more inspections today.
It was a significant slip that had gotten worse, she said.
“When the workers were working on it yesterday morning it did come down substantially more…
“We did have a slip that we’d started working on last week that had also slipped some time ago but this one has come from much higher up and is much more severe.”
Residents who were cut off were being checked on.
There has been no damage to homes although some sections have been affected by some mud.
“It is a pretty precarious hill and has had slips many times over the years…. The hill is being watched all the time.”
During the storm Gibson’s home was struck by lightning and a camera on the roof landed behind her bed.
“We wondered what was going on and wondered if the roof was lifting off … It just gave us a bit of a fright.”
Westpower was warning there was a continuing risk to power supply for homes at Arnott Heights due to the slip.
A stray helium balloon also cut power to more than 900 homes in Petone on Monday evening, while the wider region struggled with the wet weather.
Power was eventually restored but it prompted Wellington Electricity to remind people not to release or have the helium balloons near a power line, as it could be dangerous and cause outages.
~RNZ
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
rnz
Police say person who fired gun at officers still at large
New Zealand sides named for RLWC finals
Parliamentary Service working on extra chairs and offices for increased number of MPs
-
Latest News2 months ago‘Chilling’: Business groups speak out against National’s supermarket break-up plan
-
NZ News2 months agoTom Phillips report: The missed opportunities to find the children
-
Politics2 months agoNational vows to try to split Pak’nSave and New World
-
Latest News2 months agoCars bearing Chinese police markings stir unease in Auckland
-
Fiji News2 months agoPlans to have new Constitution by Dec 24th 2026
-
NZ News2 months agoCop who stole $68,000 can now be named as champion Muay Thai fighter Haimona Tamati-Te Paki
-
Politics2 months agoMBIE confirms botched biometric projects costs blown out to $50.7 million
-
Latest News2 months agoFive Karangahape Road venues lose their liquor licences after police intervention