World Homeless Day
Event Description
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Join us at Federal Square aka St Patricks Square in Auckland CBD for World Homeless Day 2025—a powerful day of community, creativity, and hope. Every New Zealander deserves a safe place to call home. This event brings together street whānau, frontline workers, advocates, artists, and the wider community to honour resilience and amplify the urgent call for collective action. We invite you to stand with us, listen, share, and be part of the change.
What to Expect
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Free health checks and vaccinations provided by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Hato Hone St John, and the National Health Coalition
Legal support from Auckland Community Law
Mobile showers and laundry courtesy of Orange Sky
Hot meals, breakfast packs, and gourmet burgers
Clothing, haircuts, and other essential services
On-site voting for General and Local Body Elections
Art exhibitions, live performances, and creative workshops
Keynote remarks from Helen Robinson (Auckland City Missioner) and Pam Elgar ONZM (Lifewise Executive Chair)
Live music: Hip hop/reggae star Che Fu and artist Hools will perform from 12:45 pm, bringing a vibrant mix of pop, hip-hop, funk, and soul
Who Is This Event For?
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This event is open to everyone—but best positioned for adults, especially those who want to learn more about homelessness in Aotearoa and support positive change.
Programme Outline
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10:00 AM: Event opens, welcome and community gathering Keynote remarks from Helen Robinson, Auckland City Missioner
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM: Health checks, legal support, meals, showers, clothing, haircuts, art exhibitions, creative workshops, and voting available throughout the day
12:20 PM: Lunch served to whānau
12:45 PM: Live performance by Che Fu and Hools
1:45PM: Close Pam Elgar ONZM, Lifewise
2:00 PM: Event closes
Transport Advice
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Federal Square is centrally located in Auckland CBD and easily accessible by public transport, including buses and trains. Limited parking is available nearby, but we encourage attendees to use public transport or carpool where possible. The venue is wheelchair accessible.
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Where---Federal Square aka St Patricks Square, 43 Wyndham Street and Federal Street, Auckland City Centre
St Patricks Cathedral on Wyndham Street
And across the Road from the ANZ Centre on Federal Street.
When----Friday 10 October 2025---10am-2pm
Cost---Free
Contact--Lifewise
marketing@lifewise.org.nz
021 241 1839
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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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