NZ public holiday announced for September 26
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a State Memorial Service for Queen Elizabeth II would also be held in the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul on the same day.
The event will be televised and livestreamed.
"As New Zealand's Queen and much loved Sovereign for over 70 years, it is appropriate that we mark her life of dedicated public service with a State Memorial Service and a one-off public holiday," Ardern said.
"Queen Elizabeth II was an extraordinary person, and I know many New Zealanders will appreciate the opportunity to both mark her death and celebrate her life."
Ardern said the public holiday allowed people to pay their respects and for communities around the country to come together and pay tribute with local events.
"The decision to hold a one-off Public Holiday in the Queen's honour is also in line with similar holidays in the UK and Australia, and is in keeping with what is an historic event."
The death of the Queen was announced on Friday (NZT) and her funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey on Monday, September 19.
A period of national mourning started immediately after the Queen's death was announced and will continue until the date of the National Memorial Service.
Ardern previously said New Zealand's memorial service would be held at some point after the funeral in the UK - and turned its mind this afternoon to setting the date when it meets today as well as whether to have a public holiday.
A one-off national public holiday has been confirmed in Australia on September 22. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese the move was "in honour of the life and service" of the late Queen and would coincide with a memorial service.
BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope told RNZ's Morning Report businesses had already suffered losses from the pandemic and the government had to be careful when making a call that would impose more costs on local businesses.
"Certainly, I don't think there's any problem with a memorial, I think there'll be a lot of people who will be wanting to attend that but to add another public holiday, as I said, at a time when many businesses have struggled is a bridge too far."
Even a half-day public holiday would still be costly for businesses, he said.
"We prefer not to have that."
King Charles has announced the day of the Queen's funeral - September 19 - would be a bank holiday in the UK.
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Christmas gifts stolen from parked car prompts warning over holiday break-ins
An Auckland man whose Christmas presents were stolen from his car on a quiet street is warning others not to repeat his mistake.
Police and the AA say opportunistic thieves are breaking into cars more frequently during the Christmas period.
Jeremy Rees, an RNZ staff member in Auckland, had packed his car full of gifts when he decided to visit a friend.
“Everyone had handed over presents and we had a couple of bags full of presents sitting in the back of the car,” he said.
“I decided it would be great to go around and see a friend, drop off some presents and say hello. My wife said to me, ‘Are you sure we should be taking this car?’ I said, ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine’.
“I think it was only 20 minutes outside their house, a very quiet street. It was light [outside]. We came out and my wife pointed out that someone had smashed the rear window, reached in and grabbed the presents, and headed away.
“It was a shock. It was a shock partly because of the Christmas presents and partly because my wife had been telling me, ‘Don’t do that’.”
AA Insurance head of motor claims Beau Paparoa said roadside staff were responding to smashed windows more often.
“We definitely see car break-ins starting to occur a lot more around this time of year. We’re often hearing from customers and some of our roadside teams that there’s definitely a bit more opportunistic theft happening,” he said.
“We’re putting that down to it being a busy time of year. Everyone’s out doing their Christmas shopping and there’s much more presence of gifts and valuables being visible in the car.”
He encouraged people to be careful and make sure valuables were hidden from view.
“In terms of any valuables, if you’ve done some Christmas shopping, or if generally you’ve got valuables in your car, try [to] keep them locked away or out of sight – in your boot if you can,” he said.
“Where you’re parking is possibly a good thing to think about. If you can afford to, don’t park on the street, but if you have to park on-street, make sure you park in well-lit areas.”
Police said it was not uncommon for Christmas presents to be stolen.
“The key is to remove any opportunity. This includes taking valuables or documents out of vehicles wherever possible,” a spokesperson said.
Rees said he wished he had followed that advice.
“I feel a bit stupid, to be absolutely honest. I read all of the things from police saying ‘don’t do this, don’t pack your car, don’t just leave it on the street’, and I did exactly the opposite and I paid the price.”
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Auckland Harbour Bridge summer works
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is carrying out essential maintenance on the Auckland Harbour Bridge this December and January. The southbound clip-on lanes will be closed (24/7) from 26 December to 5 January for road resurfacing. Night-time lane restrictions will be in place throughout the summer for recoating work on the bridge. Traffic will still be able to travel in both directions at all times.
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