Watch out for this pretty flower
Green thumbs are being asked to watch out for a beautiful but toxic flower that could be growing in their backyards.
What you need to know:
- Every part of the plant is poisonous, and can cause gastroenteritis, thirst, paralysis, blindness, and heart and kidney failure.
- This plant is hardy and normal pest control efforts are often not enough to eradicate.
- The cape tulip, growing up to 90cm high with one strap-like leaf, was introduced to Aotearoa in the 1940s, the Ministry for Primary Industries’ manager for pest management John Sanson said. “Cape tulips, like many of these invasive weeds, are really attractive ornamental species ...but they escape over people’s backyard fences and into pasture, as these things often do,”
- It was classified as a noxious plant in the late 1970s after they were discovered to cause harm to livestock and humans, even killing animals when too much as ingested.
- The salmon-pink flowers bloom for about two days a year between June and December, and have previously been an ornamental species for keen gardeners.
Sanson urged people who believed they had the weed growing on their property to leave it untouched and contact Biosecurity New New Zealand’s Exotic Pest and Disease on 0800 80 99 66.
Once a site was confirmed, manual removal or chemical treatment would start.
By-election for Otara-Papatoetoe area
Just to let everyone know that we have another by-election happening, and here is the reason why. Below are details and dates, so keep an eye on your letter boxes.
The Manukau Court’s Ruling
The Manukau District Court determined that the Papatoetoe subdivision result of the Ōtara–Papatoetoe Local Board election was invalid, ruling that the outcome had been “materially affected” by voting irregularities. Judge Richard McIlraith found that the scale and nature of the irregularities met the legal threshold required to void an election under New Zealand’s local electoral laws.
In his decision, Judge McIlraith stated that the evidence presented — including reports of stolen voting papers, fraudulent use of ballots, and other procedural irregularities — was sufficient to conclude that the integrity of the election had been compromised. The court noted that at least 79 voting papers were identified as having been cast without the rightful voter’s knowledge during a judicially supervised examination of ballot boxes.
While the judge acknowledged that the election had been administered “properly and in accordance with all requirements” by Independent Election Services and the electoral officer, he concluded that the fraudulent activity originated outside the official process and nonetheless impacted the final result to a degree that required the election to be voided.
As a result of the ruling, the court ordered that a new election must be held, with Auckland Council confirming that the fresh poll must be completed by 9 April 2026
Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
🎉 2026 is almost here!
We’re curious ... how do you welcome it?
Do you set resolutions, follow special traditions, or just go with the flow?
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10.3% Yes! New Year, New Me
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20.1% Yes - but I rarely stick to them
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69.6% Nah - not for me
Poll: 🗑️ Would you be keen to switch to a fortnightly rubbish collection, or do you prefer things as they are?
Aucklanders, our weekly rubbish collections are staying after councillors voted to scrap a proposed trial of fortnightly pick-ups.
We want to hear from you: would you be keen to switch to a fortnightly rubbish collection, or do you prefer things as they are?
Keen for the details? Read up about the scrapped collection trial here.
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85.6% Same!
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14.4% Would have liked to try something different
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