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Weather: Heavy rain, strong winds for much of country
Fire and Emergency (FENZ) responded to more than 100 weather-related callouts on Monday around Auckland, with strong wind warnings upgraded to cover most of the North Island, as well as the upper West Coast of the South Island.
FENZ said the most significant incidents were around Pukekohe and Papakura, where trees and power lines came down.
Crews responding to a roof being torn off an unoccupied home in Hillsborough said it scattered debris down the road and up against a car.
The roof of an unoccupied home in the Auckland suburb of Hillsborough came off in high winds and scattered debris down the road. Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
All lanes on Auckland’s Harbour Bridge were closed about 3pm as a result of strong winds, but had since reopened.
Motorists were still being urged to drive with care and expect delays.
MetService warnings
Strong wind warnings for the northern and central parts of the North Island have expired but several regions remain in the firing line.
Orange wind warnings remain for Manawatu, Horowhenua and Kapiti Coast until Tuesday morning, and the Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and the West Coast north of Aoraki Mount Cook until Tuesday afternoon.
Heavy rain warnings also remain in force for Tairawhiti, the Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay.
Ferry cancellations
Auckland Transport said a number of ferry sailings had been cancelled due to the weather.
All trips on the Pine Harbour service had been cancelled for the rest of the day. Replacement shuttles would depart from Pine Harbour at 6pm and replacement shuttles would depart from Queens Wharf at 7pm.
Sailings would not stop at Northcote Point until further notice and two sailings to Waiheke Island had been cancelled.
All Gulf Harbour trips for the rest of Monday and Tuesday had been cancelled.
Passengers were encouraged to check the latest information via the AT Mobile app, or the AT website.
Power out
A major power outage struck part of the West Coast about 7.30pm on Monday.
Lines company Buller Electricity Limited said the fault at the Robertson Substation in Westport, which had caused a district-wide outage, was repaired by 10.30pm.
Buller Electricity supplies close to 5000 customers located on the north of the West Coast, from Meybille Bay to Karamea.
The main population is based in Westport.
Parts of Northland were also without power after cuts earlier Monday afternoon.
South of Auckland, Counties Energy said there were a number of power cuts from strong winds and heavy rain.
It showed outages in pockets across the south of Papakura.
It said crews were working hard to restore power.
Community events cancelled
Tauranga City Council has cancelled all five of its community New Year’s Eve events because of the bad weather forecast.
The council said weather reports indicated heavy rain and strong winds during event set-up, with conditions highly likely to continue into Wednesday.
It said fireworks displays would hopefully still take place from various locations around the city on New Year’s Eve.
Yachtie in the water
A yachtie ended up in the water north of Auckland, after trying to get clear of the windy conditions.
The Coastguard said the man asked for help because he was worried his mooring line might snap at Leigh.
Kawau volunteers responded but it was not safe for them to reach him, the Coastguard said.
It said the man then tried to get to shore in his tender but he ended up in the water.
Police said emergency services were called at about 2.10pm but the man was safely on land 10 minutes later and was checked by ambulance crews.
‘It’s an interesting direction’
Earlier, Metservice meteorologist Katie Lyons said campers in the Coromandel would have woken to soggy conditions.
“Unfortunately, things in the Coromandel have deteriorated overnight with that rain setting in. Places in the hills of Coromandel are seeing about 30mm of rain already.”
A warning of severe gales has been issued for Manawatu, Horowhenua and Kapiti coast from 4pm, while the Tararua district and Wairarapa will be under a heavy rain watch from 6pm.
From 10pm the Marlborough Sounds, Nelson, Buller, Grey District and Westland will be under a strong wind watch.
Lyons said people in the Kāpiti Coast and Manawatū should prepare for the strong southeasterlies by tying down loose objects.
“It’s an interesting direction because you’d think they would be quite sheltered. But these southeasterlies can come up and down the other side of those hills, accelerating and and gaining speed as they do so,” she said.
“Not everyone will necessarily feel the the full fury of these winds, but particularly those in exposed places.”
Lyons said the South Island is experiencing the calmest weather conditions.
“While it has its things going on, it’s definitely much better than than the North Island. In particular, places like the West Coast, maybe Fiordland as well, are really the the better spots for today. Eventually things will move south towards them as well.”
Festivalgoers for New Year’s events such as Rhythm and Vines have been warned to watch out for wild weather on the roads.
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.
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