Heavy rain and wind warnings blanket entire North Island
They also extend to the top of the South Island as Cyclone Gabrielle bears down on the country. Aucklanders are being urged to stay home and at least 25,000 households are without power
In today’s edition: expectation of an announcement on bringing back school attendance officers this week; Wellington keeping eyes to the sky for falling objects; the Breakers inch closer to competing for another NBL championship but first, heavy rain and strong wind warnings for the entire North Island and top of the South - the latest on Cyclone Gabrielle
Cyclone Gabrielle’s position at time of send (via earth.nullschool.net)
What had been experienced so far as no more than an “entrée”
The entire North Island, top of the South Island and parts of the West Coast are now under heavy rain and/or wind warnings or watches. MetService upgraded 24 warnings and watches at 5am this morning that extend from Cape Reinga down to Marlborough, Nelson, Buller and the West Coast north of Fox Glacier. It’s really important to keep in mind that while parts of the upper North Island have been feeling the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle for a day or so, the worst is yet to come. MetService’s Georgina Griffith described what had been experienced so far as no more than an “entrée”. “Don’t be fooled if you’re not affected till Tuesday,” she said.
Sleepless night in Northland and Coromandel
In Northland, at least 8,000 households are without power. Repairs to the network are being hampered by unsafe conditions and residents are being told to expect to be without power for days. All schools in Northland had been closed following the declaration of a state of emergency. RNZ’s Morning Report reported this morning that parts of Northland have had 200mm of rain in the past 24 hours causing surface flooding. High tide is just before 1pm in Whangarei and Civil Defence is warning that it could bring more flooding. Thames Coromandel Civil Defence controller Garry Towler said the region received a battering overnight but has so far pulled through. Nearly 4000 residents have experienced power outages. Towler said the area can expect another 400mm of rain today.
Aucklanders urged to stay home
Aucklanders are being urged to stay home today and tomorrow. New Zealand Principal's Federation president Leanne Otene told the AM Show that the majority of schools in Auckland had closed. After a decision to close the Auckland Harbour bridge yesterday, the bridge is now open with speed restrictions and lane closures. Auckland Transport says it is likely to open and close throughout the day "depending on the unpredictable approach of Cyclone Gabrielle". Buses are still operating but expect disruption. KiwiRail made the proactive decision to close its network across the top half of the North Island, including Auckland commuter lines, until at least 3pm today. At 7pm last night, vector advised around 15,000 households were without power in Auckland.
Is our emergency management system fit for purpose?
While the current focus is on the next few days, Newsroom’s Sam Sachdeva has turned his eye to the questions that will be asked in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle and the flooding in Auckland just over two weeks ago. Sachdeva says “politicians and officials alike must have some serious conversations about whether our emergency management system is fit for purpose.” A review after the Christchurch earthquake in 2011 highlighted the “dysfunctionally divided” nature of local structures, as well as a fragmentation of decision-making between regional authorities, government departments and the national crisis management centre. Some people were asking why a state of emergency hadn’t been declared earlier in Northland yesterday. At one point yesterday afternoon, with a list of evacuation centres published for Auckland and Coromandel, Northland Civil Defence were advising people they couldn’t tell them were evacuation centres would be, while the Whangarei District Council had published names of marae people could go to, and where a likely evacuation centre would be.
Meet the masters of outdoor advertising
There’s almost no chance you haven’t seen a piece of oOh!media’s work in the last week – though you may not have realised it was theirs. Responsible for outdoor advertising throughout New Zealand, from bus stops to mall signage, oOh!media has put together some of the most memorable outdoor ads of recent years, like the Codeword Army campaign, the Mackenzie Pies pie warmer, the TradeMe Kindness Store and the Adidas Stan Smith living shelter to name just a few. Nick Vile, oOh!media (NZ) general manager appeared on The Fold with Duncan Greive this week to discuss the creative world of outdoor advertising. Listen now!
First sitting of parliament tomorrow
Both prime minister Chris Hipkins and National party leader Christopher Luxon have been in Auckland over the weekend as the city has been preparing for Cyclone Gabrielle. Hipkins told kim hill this morning that today’s cabinet meeting will be held online as hipkins remains in Auckland. The first sitting of parliament is set down for tomorrow. Newsroom’s Jo Moir writes that Question Time will be replaced with the prime minister’s statement and each party will have an opportunity to respond. Luxon’s state of the nation speech set to take place in Auckland on Sunday was postponed. Moir notes that provided the cyclone doesn’t shunt political events sideways, we should expect to see an education announcement around school attendance this week, with a possible reintroduction of what were known as “truancy officers”.
Wellington keeps its eye on the sky and not because of the weather
Wellington city council is warning people to keep their eyes up as new LED street lamps are failing which may cause them to drop to the ground. A few have already fallen and when this was first reported on Friday, the estimate of the number of lamps affected was said to be a “very small bad batch” of the 17,000 LED lamps that were rolled out in 2018. The Guardian’s Tess McClure reports that the number is actually close to 1000. Some good news though, the street lamps tend to droop before dropping so if you spot a dropping lamp, report it to the Council.
The Spinoff's independent, homegrown journalism is only possible because of the support of our members. Their generous donations power all our work and help keep it freely available to all. Tautoko The Spinoff this year by becoming a member, making a new donation or encouraging your organisation to donate.
Click and collect
A couple of need-to-knows on Cyclone Gabrielle: The Spinoff will have the latest information in our live updates and where to go and where to get help if you have to evacuate or feel unsafe
Serious concerns that new military watchdog will keep wrongdoing secret
Nearly a third of cruise ships entering NZ fail biosecurity rules
Solar power easing costs for Taranaki hospices
I’m not sure how many Bulletin readers we have from Southland but I wanted to recommend The Southland Tribune, a newsletter from former Southland Times reporter Logan Savory. Savory describes Southland as New Zealand's “shit-hottest” region and the Tribune, which is hosted on Substack, as a new approach to local journalism
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.
If you liked what you read today, share The Bulletin with friends, family and colleagues.
Jennifer Smart reflects on her own burnout as a secondary school teacher. Sam Brooks talks to David Fane about Our Flag Means Death, Bro’Town and his latest stage role; Sharon Lam on why it's both the best of times and the worst of times to be turning the big 3-0. In the latest Sunday Essay, Marcia Welch explains why she’s focussing on bugs to relieve her eco-anxiety. Alex Casey maps all the places Ed Sheeran has given people a surprise while he’s been in New Zealand.
Sporting snippets
“If you think of the biggest names in the women’s game right now, they come from the Allan Bunting school of rugby” - Alice Soper with a look at what the new Black Ferns Director of Rugby will bring to the role.
Very sad for the one JackJumpers fan I know but great news for Breakers fans. The team inches closer to competing for another National Basketball League championship after beating the Tasmanian team last night before dashing to catch one of the last flights out of Auckland
Weather is being watched closely to see how it might impact the pink ball test between the Black Caps and England on Thursday. See also, what is a pink ball test?
Christchurch’s defending manu champion has reclaimed his dive-bombing title
“Social media… is deeply distorting our humanity”
Eleanor Catton shares intelligent and eloquent thoughts on complicity, morality, social media, the impact of being called a “traitor” in 2015 because she criticised the government, and yes, her new book Birnam Wood with Kim Hill. Highly recommend listening to this.
