Latest news with #AucklandCBD
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
Public-facing police counter opens in Auckland CBD
Acting deputy commissioner for the Northern Region, Jill Rogers. Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers A public-facing police counter has opened up in Auckland CBD on Friday - about six years since the city centre last had one. The new public counter at the 210 Federal Street Police base will replace the one at the College Hill Police Headquarters, which has been operating since police closed their CBD Vincent Street station in 2019. Acting deputy commissioner for the Northern Region, Jill Rogers, said it's fantastic to be opening their doors back in the heart of central Auckland once again. "We know that the public feel safer when they see our staff and our buildings," she said. "This has been something the community have been keen to see happen, and Police have been working hard at increasing our presence in recent years." Rogers said police will be able to deploy with ease across busy areas of the CBD - including Te Waihorotiu Station, which is expected to be the country's busiest train station when it opens in 2026. While police have occupied two floors at the 210 Federal Street base since 2020, this new development means police will take full occupancy of the building moving on. Rogers said the expanded police presence will make their 24/7 response in the city more effective. "We have seen the benefits since our Beat team moved to the site more than two years ago, "For example, foot patrols are up 91 percent in the city from July 2024 to April 2025, on the previous period," she said. Meanwhile, construction is ongoing at the building, with fit out work to be completed on some of the floors. The Auckland City District Police Headquarters will remain at the College Hill location. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Fire crews battle fire in six-storey residential building in Auckland CBD
Fire crews were called to the incident just after 8.15pm. Photo: Finn Blackwell Fire crews are battling a blaze in a six-storey residential building in Auckland CBD on Tuesday. Crews were called to the incident just after 8.15pm. Photo: Finn Blackwell Fire and Emergency said eight trucks, including two ladder trucks, and a command unit are at the scene. More to come... Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Light trail to celebrate Matariki goes on display
Auckland's Te Ara Rama Matariki Light Trail. Photo: Supplied A reflective light trail celebrating Matariki is on display for two weeks in the Auckland CBD, stretching for two kilometres from Myers Park to the waterfront. Auckland Council said the trail is guided by light and sound effects created by Māori artists, celebrating wai (water) - including the waters of Te Waihorotiu stream, the Waitematā Harbour and the life-giving value of rain. It said the trail is designed to allow people to pause and reflect on the rich history of the city centre. The trail begins with a stairway at Myers Park, designed by Tessa Harris (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki), with patterns depicting pātiki (flounder), accompanied by the sounds of Waimahara. Turning on to Queen Street, a series of art installations tell the ancient stories of place - including Hotoriu - a nine-metre kaitiaki that symbolically guards the ancestral river, and the Waharoa (archway) in Aotea Square by artist Selwyn Murupaenga. The area carries the historic footprints of local Māori tribes who have thrived in the space for hundreds of years. Towards the harbour, a Kawau Tikitiki (a cormorant/shag) is suspended in flight above the street, and anyone visiting the area can walk beneath Te Wehenga between Fort Street and Shortland Street. Meanwhile, the downtown part of the light trail begins at Te Komititanga, the public square by Britomart train station. A brand new trail of light installations and lightboxes links Te Komititanga along Galway Street to Takutai Square and Māhuhu ki te Rangi Park (near Spark Arena). In Takutai Square, a light and sound installation by Arama Tamariki-Enu, Angus Muir and Catherine Ellis depicts patterns mimicking the star-like shapes of the Matariki cluster. An accompanying soundscape brings the sounds of the foreshore and forest before the modern city was founded. The Tūhono light projections in Takutai Square will play every evening from Thursday 19 June to Thursday 10 July, with a seven-minute light and sound sequence every quarter-hour from 5pm until 10pm. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
14-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Youth-led Hīkoi highlights Auckland homelessness crisis says advocate
About 100 people marched on the footpath from Karangahape Road to downtown Auckland. Photo: Kick Back / Aaron Hendry A youth advocate says the turnout at a hīkoi to highlight youth homelessness in Auckland CBD clearly shows the pain and trauma young people are experiencing. Co-founder and manager of youth development organisation Kick Back, Aaron Hendry, said about 100 people marched on the footpath from Karangahape Road to downtown Auckland after noon Saturday. He said the hīkoi was organised by youth who had or still experienced homelessness. "Many young people in our community have been denied emergency housing, are couch surfing, living in hostels and in unsafe living environments, because this government and successive governments have not invested in a clear strategy to end youth homelessness. "This is them standing up and saying, 'We have a voice, we are going to use it'." Kick Back was actively monitoring 140 young people in the city, who do not have stable housing - some as young as 11 years old. Hendry said marching on the footpath instead of the road was a way of recognising where many had slept rough. "Young people denied shelter because of government decisions around emergency housing had to sleep on Karangahape Road or Queen Street. Youth protestors wave flags during a hīkoi to highlight youth homelessness in Auckland CBD. Photo: Kick Back / Aaron Hendry "They are taking the street back and saying, 'This is where you left us, this is not a place for any child or young person to live'." He said Labour MPs Shanan Halbert and Kieran McAnulty, and Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March participated in the march. Auckland councillor and mayoral candidate Kerrin Leoni also attended. "Central government have taken quite a lot of money away from homeless initiatives and it is a real concern for our city," Leoni said. "There are multiple issues young homeless people are experiencing and hearing a story of a suicide today is heart-breaking, as a leader of this city, to know this is happening in the wealthiest and biggest city of our country. She said, if elected mayor, she would work with community housing and poverty action groups to find ways Auckland Council could help. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
16-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Measles case: 78 in quarantine as hundreds of close contacts identified
Photo: RNZ /Dom Thomas Hundreds of close contacts of the measles case in Auckland have been contacted by Health New Zealand (HNZ) over the past week, in an attempt to contain the risk of the virus spreading in the city. On 11 May, HNZ announced that it had identified a measles case in Auckland which was linked to overseas travel. The case was first confirmed on 10 May. Measles is highly contagious and up to 90 percent of non-immune people (those who have not been vaccinated or have not already had it) will be infected if they are exposed to the virus. About 80 percent of New Zealanders are immune - well below the 95 percent coverage needed to prevent an outbreak. HNZ said it had reached out to 286 close contacts since, and 78 of those people are in quarantine as a precautionary measure. So far, 19 of the close contacts are waiting for blood test results to confirm their measles immunity status. HNZ said it had offered and encouraged MMR vaccinations to anyone identified in the process as non-immune. The agency said it had delivered 50 food packages to people in quarantine who could not access food. HNZ has confirmed 17 exposure events across Auckland - most of which took place on Fullers360 ferry sailings between Auckland CBD, Devonport, Rangitoto and Half Moon Bay on 5 May. Other locations include a CBD carpark on Customs Street, Unichem pharmacy in New Lynn, a Pak'nSave supermarket in Mt Albert, and a Woolworths supermarket in Kelston. The national clinical director of protection at the National Public Health Service, Dr Susan Jack, said their staff had been making phone calls, sending texts and emails, and in some cases door-knocking to follow up on close contacts. She said the virus was highly contagious and an infected person can infect as many as 12 to 18 other people on average. "Our teams have focussed on moving as quickly as possible to reduce the spread," she said. Jack said anyone identified as non-immune during the contact tracing process have been asked to quarantine. "Vaccination with two doses of the MMR vaccine remains the absolute best protection against becoming seriously unwell with measles. "The vaccine is 99 percent effective after two doses and for most people there's no risk in having an extra dose if it's needed. Now is the time for you and your whānau to check if you're protected against measles, and to get immunised if you're not, or if you're unsure." She said it was especially important for infants and young children, and adults who were born or lived in New Zealand between 1969 and 2004 (now aged between 21 and 56), who may not be fully protected, to check their immunisation status. Jack also encouraged anyone planning to travel internationally to make sure they were vaccinated against measles - given the risks over outbreaks in many countries. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
