Thats it for the live updates, Wellington. Thanks for joining us today we will be back tomorrow.
7.00pm: New chief executives for Film Commission, regional council
New chief executives have been announced for the New Zealand Film Commission and Greater Wellington Regional Council.
David Strong, who has a background in the New Zealand Army but also owns an independent production company, was announced as the commissions new chief executive on Monday.
Strong replaced Annabelle Sheehan, who left the role last month to return to her home country of Australia after three and a half years for continued breast cancer treatment.
Meanwhile, Greater Wellington Regional Council has looked to one of its own to fill its top job.
Nigel Corry has been appointed the local authoritys chief executive, replacing Greg Campbell who leaves after seven years in the role.
Corry had been Campbells deputy since 2018.
2.30pm: Trains held on Hutt Valley line
Train services were briefly held between Petone and Taita on Metlinks Hutt Valley line due to an emergency services incident.
A police spokeswoman said police were responding to a mental health incident.
Metlink soon after said it had received clearance to run services as normal. However, commuters should expect delays and cancellations to some train services.
Go to metlink.org.nz for more info.
1.30pm: Cherry Cola at Studio 77
With nothing going for him other than the sweet satisfaction of his favourite drink, Cherry Cola, Terry struggles to find reason. That is until the jingles play and the sugar hits and his beloved mascot friend, Cherry comes to life.
Cherry Cola combines quirky energy with dark comedy and self-reflection to tell the story of Terry (Harri Hashim) and his relationship with Cherry Cola – both the drink and the puppet (puppeteered by Blake Boston).
Playing at Studio 77, 77 Fairlie Terrace, Kelburn, nightly from Tues 15 to Friday 18.
Tickets are available here.
11.59am: Missing group found
Four people, including two children, who went missing while four-wheel-driving in the lower North Island have been found.
Two adults and two children, aged three and one, from Masterton, went missing overnight after failing to return from their 4WD trip across Tararua and Wairarapa.
The four were found in Waikuku Lodge on Haurangi Rd before 11am on Monday, after their truck got stuck in a track, Mastertons Search and Rescue co-ordinator Sergeant Tony Matheson said.
They’re all good. It sounds like they got their truck stuck and walked up the road and spent the night at Waikuku, a DOC hut, Matheson said.
10.15am: New Zealand’s first Anne Frank memorial unveiled in Wellington
Located in Ellice Park in Mt Victoria, the memorial is the first of its kind in New Zealand, commemorating Anne Frank and the 1.5 million children who were killed during the holocaust.
The memorial features three steel chairs modelled on those found in the annexe where Anne Frank, who would have turned 92 on Saturday, hid from the Nazi Germans for 761 dayswith her family.
The layout represents discrimination and prejudice, the chairman of Anne Frank Projects and the driver behind the project, Boyd Klap said.
Read Sophie Cornishs full article here.
Anne Frank Projects chairman and the driver behind the memorial, Boyd Klap, and Wellington central MP Grant Robertson sit on the chairs, which are engraved with quotes in English and Te Reo Mori.
Wellington weather:
Rain is forecast to ease in the afternoon. Moderate northerlies and a high of 16 degrees Celsius.
One person injured after suspicious house fire spreads to neighbouring properties
A police spokesperson said they were treating a fire in Newtown that destroyed two houses and damaged two others as suspicious.
Police and Fire and Emergency investigators will be on the scene on Monday morning to establish the cause of the fire.
One person was taken to hospital with moderate injuries and was in a stable condition on Monday morning.
Before the fire: 125 and 127 Hanson St, Newtown. A suspicious fire destroyed the two homes and damaged two others on Sunday night.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said 13 fire engines attended the blaze on Hanson St about 10.40pm.
The fire spread from one home to three other properties that were in close proximity, he said.
Two firefighters also suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
The blaze was brought under control about 1am.
Read the full story here.
In The Dominion Post today:
Homeowners across Wellington could be forced to pay up for pipe fixes
Homeowners across Wellington may be forced to fix leaking pipes at their own cost with a test case project currently underway in whiro Bay on the south coast.
Residents in the whiro Stream catchment where repeated efforts to find the source of faecal contamination in the stream and bay have not been wholly successful have already been told by Wellington Water that their private wastewater pipes will be tested with homes in Brooklyn due to receive letters soon.
Read the full story by Tom Hunt here.
500th rugby game and no plans of hanging up the boots
Jason Judd first ran out, barefoot on frosty ground, in 1972 aged five. He ran out on Saturday for his 500th game of rugby with the Wellington Football Club amid his 50th consecutive season of playing rugby.
The fact his team lost was almost irrelevant.
Judd, 54, had already played for four years for a club team in Taranaki, then four years for Wellington College Old Boys before joining the Haitatai-based Wellington Football Club, then going on to play 500 games for its Axemen team.
Read the full story by Tom Hunt here.
Jason Judd celebrates after his 500th game for the Wellington Axeman with teammates Mareko Panapa(left) and Bryan York.
Woman left with pad inside her six weeks after Hutt Hospital birth
GRAPHIC WARNING: Six weeks after having a baby Sukhleen Kaur could barely stand, had lost her appetite and there was a bad smell from her vagina.
Her midwife told the 32-year-old that her stitches were healing fine, suggested she had an internal infection and prescribed her antibiotics, but Kaur knew something was wrong. Finally, a visit to her GP revealed a vaginal pack used to stem bleeding after birth had been left inside her and was still there 45 days later.
Read the full story by Bridie Witton here.
Sukhleen Kaur, with daughter Harji, wants to make sure the mistake doesnt happen again.
This Monday in the arts:
Whirimako Black mixes waiata and jazz in a night of bliss at Opera House
With a smart young nine-piece ensemble, soul and jazz singer Whirimako Black charmed some 1200 at the Opera House with sultry swing. In a different era of mainstream public television, by now shed be a household name.
Drawing from eight albums and beyond, Black mixed her own and traditional waiata with fearless melodic reshapings of diverse numbers from the Western songbook. Black relishes introducing us to the expressive spatial musical potential of Te Reo Mori.
Read the full review here.
