Papatoetoe local body election results reveal a surprise victor
A Labour candidate has secured top spot in the Papatoetoe local body election in Auckland, with three members of the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team also claiming seats.
The preliminary result marks a shift from the 2025 election, where the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team swept all four seats.
Although three of its members have been returned in the latest vote, Labour candidate and petitioner of the judicial inquiry Lehopoaome Vi Hausia has emerged as the leading vote-getter, breaking the group's clean sweep.
Vi Hausia secured the top spot with 2788 votes, followed by Jeet Singh of the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team with 2484.
Fellow Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team candidate Sandeep Saini received 2479 votes, while Kushma Nair claimed the fourth and final seat with 2383.
Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team's Kunal Bhalla narrowly missed out, finishing fifth with 2343 votes.
Preliminary voter turnout for the election was 23.7 percent.
Final results are expected to be confirmed on Friday once special votes have been counted.
Labour's Vi Hausia said it was a "huge sigh of relief" to see the election process conclude.…more
Pasifika voices take centre stage in powerful retelling of 'A View from the Bridge'
A new production of A View from the Bridge at Q Theatre is hitting close to home, with Pacific artists telling a story many families will recognise all too well.
Presented by Silo Theatre and directed by Anapela Polata'ivao, this version centres migrant voices, turning a classic into something deeply personal for Pasifika communities.
“In this instance, the stars have aligned at a time where the lived experiences of our Pasifika actors, whether directly or through their bloodlines, join forces to tackle Arthur Miller’s 'A View From The Bridge.' It speaks to the bones of our migration story and our Dawn Raids experience.”
That connection is what makes this production hit differently. What unfolds on stage, undocumented family members seeking safety, the risk of being exposed, the tension inside the home, is not distant history for many Pacific families in Aotearoa.
It echoes the legacy of the Dawn Raids, when Pacific communities lived with the fear of authorities knocking at the door. That fear, and the choices families made to protect each other, sit at the heart of this story.…more
Samoa Wins 6 Gold Medals at World Muay Thai Championship | Exclusive Fighter & Coach Interviews
Samoa’s first-ever Muay Thai team has made history at the 21st World Muay Thai Championship in Thailand, bringing home three gold medals.
In this exclusive video, fighters and coaches (Eti Naseri, Felise Sua Pitone, Nooroa Anguna) share their journey, challenges, and what it means to represent Samoa on the world stage. Featuring insights from the team behind this historic campaign and the next generation inspired by legends like Ray Sefo, Joseph Parker and Mark Hunt.
Credits
Camp Op & Editor: Tui Akauola
Interveiwer: Destiny Momoisea
Gym: Ghost Fist Lee Gar
Samoan baller Charlisse Leger-Walker Makes History with NCAA Basketball Title
Today will surely go down as one of the great days in New Zealand basketball, with Charlisse Leger-Walker becoming the first woman from Aotearoa to win an NCAA basketball title in the United States.
Leger-Walker's UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) has beaten South Carolina in the championship game 79-51.
The 24-year-old was a key figure in the win. She was in the starting five and was on court for 26 minutes, scoring ten points, including two three pointers.
She also claimed four rebounds and two assists.
Leger-Walker, who is from Hamilton, is from a basketball-rich family, with she, her sister Krystal and their mother Leanne having all played for New Zealand.
In 2018, she became the youngest player to play for the Tall Ferns, when she debuted as a 16-year-old at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
She's had a lengthy American college career. She spent several years with Washington State, before transferring to UCLA after being granted a fifth season of eligibilty due to the Covid-19 pandemic.…more
Jason Momoa, Taika Waititi and Cliff Curtis are backing Polynesian storytelling
“It’s an Indigenous-owned studio and the focus for us is bringing that work and uplifting - well, actually not just our people but people in the industry”
Jason Momoa, Taika Waititi and Cliff Curtis have acquired Studio West in West Auckland through their Āriki Group, positioning themselves not just as creatives, but as the ones putting resource behind the kinds of stories Māori and Pacific communities have already proven work.
Across the last two decades, some of Aotearoa’s most successful and widely recognised films have come out of that space. Whale Rider reached global audiences with a story grounded in whakapapa. Sione's Wedding showed Pacific stories could carry at the box office here. Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople followed, each reinforcing that local stories, told from here, don’t need to be adjusted to connect.
More recently, Tinā and Chief of War have continued that trajectory, showing the same stories can scale internationally without losing their grounding.…more
Things to do in Auckland this long weekend
Looking for fun things to do in Auckland this Easter long weekend? From immersive theatre and glowing light festivals to carnival thrills and family-friendly egg hunts, there’s something for everyone. Here’s our pick of the best events happening from April 3–6.
Swimming with Sharks
When: Friday, April 3 | 10:00 am – 3:30 pm
Where: Auckland Museum, Central Auckland
Ages: All ages
Dive into the depths of the ocean without getting wet! Swimming with Sharks is a theatrical, immersive experience created with the internationally renowned puppet theatre company Erth. Discover the diversity of sharks in New Zealand waters, from the bioluminescent kitefin shark to a five-metre-long great white, all brought to life through expressive puppetry.
Shows run for 20 minutes, with children invited to get up close on floor cushions and adults welcome to enjoy from sofas at the back.
Dreamer: Auckland’s New Indoor Light Festival
When: Friday, April 3 – Sunday, April 12 | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Where: New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), Central Auckland
Ages: All ages
Step inside a glowing world of colour and imagination at Dreamer.…more
HUMANS OF THE ISLANDS - FEHI'A TANGITAU
TONGAN / SAMOAN / GERMAN
MORTICIAN + MORTUARY COSMETIC ARTIST
Introduce yourself, your heritage, where you were raised.
My name is Fehi’a Lusiola Tangitau, and I am a mortician. I am of Tongan, German, and Samoan heritage, and I was raised between Pago Pago, Vava’u, and California. My father is Otto Emili Tangitau, and my mother is Moeaki Masaniai Koli. I am the middle child of seven siblings. I spent much of my childhood in Vava’u and Falevai with my siblings, surrounded by both sides of my family, before moving to California, where we continued to grow up together.
My father has since passed, and it was one of the greatest honors of my life to care for him and carry out his funeral services through my work in the funeral home.
Can you share your journey into becoming a mortician and mortuary makeup artist? What first drew you to this work?
I first started as a makeup artist in the mall, and later transitioned into film, where I specialized in creative and special effects makeup.…more
Cook Islands down to just 20 days of fuel stock as local suppliers warn of 'significant price increases'
Fuel stocks in the Cook Islands have dropped to just 20 days - less than half of full capacity - and while suppliers are confident this is sufficient, they warn of further price hikes.
"Our fuel storage capacity, if we think about the full capacity, is about 45 days. We currently have around 20 days of stock. Compared to other Pacific islands, we are relatively well positioned," Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) director of Economic Planning Division, Joaquin Vespignani, said while speaking at the Cook Islands Tourism global update on Thursday (Friday NZ time).
Local suppliers are confident that current stock is sufficient to last until the next shipment in early April - provided there is "no panic buying" - but they have warned of looming price increases.
A new price order that took effect on Friday has pushed fuel and LPG prices to among the highest ever recorded in the Cook Islands.…more
The regions next in line for flooding as heavy rain heads south
MetService says there's a strong likelihood of several regions being upgraded to red heavy rain warnings as a damaging storm sweeps across the country.
Northland and Whangārei are currently in a state of emergency, which will last for seven days.
Although rainfall is set to ease for both regions, others may soon be in the flood firing line.
So which regions are preparing for the worst?
Tauranga
Tauranga City Council is also warning people of landslide risks.
An orange heavy rain warning remains in place for Tauranga through to 1am on Saturday.
The warning has a high chance of being upgraded to a red warning.
Due to earlier rainfall and slips, it said there was an increased risk of new landslide occurring and more damage at sites which had already experienced slides.
"If you learn or suspect that a landslide is occurring or is about to occur in your area evacuate immediately if it is safe to do so.
"Seek higher ground outside the path of the landslide.…more
Pads or gas? Pasfika families faced with hard choices
“I’ve had to use my kids’ nappies as pads last week because I was down to my last dollars… we do what we have to do.”
It’s a harsh reality, but for many Pasifika families already hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis, rising fuel prices have only made things worse.
Seeing petrol prices climb day after day has become a quiet source of pressure for Pasifika across Aotearoa. And yes, even the South Auckland mum with the cleaning job, even the South Auckland mum who’s a lawyer, is feeling the pinch.
Prices have climbed as high as $3.40 per litre following the Iran conflict, landing on top of a cost-of-living crisis that was already pushing families to the edge. All New Zealanders feel it, but not evenly.
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2026 report already shows Pacific communities carrying the heaviest load. Nearly three in ten Pacific children are living in material hardship. Almost half experience food insecurity. Unemployment is the highest of any ethnic group.…more