Dave

A strong earthquake jolted the central North Island early on Saturday.

Geonet said the 'severe' magnitude 5.9 quake happened around five kilometres southwest of Taumarunui at 4.51am.

The earthquake was nine kilometres deep and the intensity was severe.

The quake was reportedly felt across much of the North Island, including Auckland, and as far as the top of the South.

By 6am, nearly 23,000 'felt reports' had been filed to Geonet.

At least seven aftershocks, ranging between magnitude 2.7 and 3.7, followed.

Fire and Emergency said far it had recieved only a sprinkler-related callout stemming from the big quake.

There is virtually no bridge too far for the man behind the new Hooker Valley suspension bridge at Aoraki Mount Cook.

The marvel of design and modern engineering is due to open next week and replaces the old one that closed due to erosion caused by storms in April last year.

It spans 189 metres across the Hooker River, making it the longest suspension bridge in the country.

After Canvas last week we are straight into another event.

You can pre-register with your Lemmy account here:

https://thebutton.social/

I don't really know how to describe it but reddit had something similar one year. You pick a team, then you try to keep the button the colour of your team. When you press the button it becomes your team's colour.

The button has a timer (I think 30 mins? Or maybe it was 10) And if it runs out the entire game is over for everyone.

And you get a very limited number of presses. Basically you get just one press ever, but they are events that might give you more. They change the rules a bit each season.

So basically you join a team, and if it's not your colour then you can press the button to make it your colour, but you need to be strategic as you may not get to press again ever. And don't let the timer run out (unless your team is winning I guess).

I missed the first one as I didn't know it was happening, and joined team Purple the next two. But I'm happy to join another colour if everyone wants to jump in to the same team colour.

Feel free to ask questions or give a better explanation of how it works!

{
	"id": 7037737258,
	"name": "LemmyNZ and the !newzealand community",
	"description": "A depiction of the [!newzeland@lemmy.nz](/c/newzeland@lemmy.nz) community as well as the LemmyNZ logo behind an to the right of it. On top of the LemmyNZ logo, some NZ icons have been drawn including kowhai flowers, gumboots, a fantail, a penguin (perhaps a kororā or little blue penguin), and a kiwi originating on the infamous laser kiwi flag.",
	"links": {
		"lemmy": [
			"[!newzealand@lemmy.nz](/c/newzealand@lemmy.nz)"
		],
		"matrix": [
			"#lemmynz:matrix.org"
		],
		"website": [
			"https://lemmy.nz/"
		]
	},
	"path": {
		"48": [
			[
				224,
				139
			],
			[
				224,
				164
			],
			[
				274,
				164
			],
			[
				274,
				166
			],
			[
				275,
				168
			],
			[
				276,
				170
			],
			[
				277,
				172
			],
			[
				278,
				174
			],
			[
				279,
				176
			],
			[
				280,
				177
			],
			[
				281,
				178
			],
			[
				275,
				179
			],
			[
				274,
				178
			],
			[
				274,
				181
			],
			[
				275,
				180
			],
			[
				281,
				180
			],
			[
				277,
				185
			],
			[
				278,
				185
			],
			[
				282,
				181
			],
			[
				284,
				182
			],
			[
				291,
				189
			],
			[
				293,
				190
			],
			[
				295,
				190
			],
			[
				298,
				192
			],
			[
				303,
				193
			],
			[
				320,
				193
			],
			[
				323,
				191
			],
			[
				326,
				191
			],
			[
				341,
				179
			],
			[
				343,
				177
			],
			[
				343,
				174
			],
			[
				344,
				174
			],
			[
				344,
				169
			],
			[
				345,
				168
			],
			[
				345,
				165
			],
			[
				346,
				164
			],
			[
				346,
				159
			],
			[
				347,
				158
			],
			[
				347,
				150
			],
			[
				346,
				144
			],
			[
				345,
				143
			],
			[
				345,
				141
			],
			[
				344,
				141
			],
			[
				344,
				139
			],
			[
				343,
				138
			],
			[
				343,
				137
			],
			[
				343,
				136
			],
			[
				330,
				124
			],
			[
				329,
				124
			],
			[
				328,
				123
			],
			[
				325,
				123
			],
			[
				324,
				122
			],
			[
				323,
				122
			],
			[
				320,
				120
			],
			[
				300,
				120
			],
			[
				294,
				123
			],
			[
				291,
				123
			],
			[
				288,
				125
			],
			[
				285,
				127
			],
			[
				276,
				137
			],
			[
				276,
				138
			],
			[
				275,
				139
			]
		]
	},
	"center": {
		"48": [
			310,
			156
		]
	}
}

Final canvas:

National is promising to modernise laws on sexual consent, saying there must be consent before sex every time, rather than assuming it has been given.

The party says if it is re-elected, it will ensure that consent is actively given, meaning there must be a "yes" rather than the absence of a "no".

Both Labour and Greens have called out the National party for walking away from cross party support on the issue.

The Labour Party agree the government should crack on with tightening consent laws, by supporting a member's bill Labour has already drafted.

Greens co leader Marama Davidson said if National is so keen on the safety of survivors, the party could make it happen straight away with support from the Greens and Labour.

TL;DR:

• Canvas is starting 4pm: https://canvas.fediverse.events/
• Copy this URL into the template URL in the settings at 220, 120: https://lemmy.nz/pictrs/image/1e7f0f78-fb55-445c-8170-4f3ef44e5767.png

Hi all, it's Canvas time again! We all work together to place pixels and build an image.

Here is the template we have (decided in this post):

Copy this URL into the template URL in the settings: https://lemmy.nz/pictrs/image/1e7f0f78-fb55-445c-8170-4f3ef44e5767.png

Then set the position to 220, 120 to position it. There is a wider plan here with other people's templates: https://chocolatecakecodes.goip.de/cotemplate/ui/template/20260520-Canvas26_main

You log in with your Lemmy account by entering your instance (e.g. lemmy.nz) then your username (e.g. Dave). It sends a code to you via a message and then you enter it to prove it's your account. No password necessary!

My plan is to start with the outline of the template to clearly define our spot, then to start filling in the rest.

Any questions, let me know. I hope to see you there!

Last thread here

Welcome to this week’s casual kōrero thread!

This post will be pinned in this community so you can always find it, and will stay for about a week until replaced by the next one.

It’s for talking about anything that might not justify a full post. For example:

• Something interesting that happened to you
• Something humourous that happened to you
• Something frustrating that happened to you
• A quick question
• A request for recommendations
• Pictures of your pet
• A picture of a cloud that kind of looks like an elephant
• Anything else, there are no rules (except the rule)

So how’s it going?

The H5N1 strain of bird flu that has been affecting countries around the world has arrived in New Zealand.

Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard confirmed the news on Wednesday afternoon, saying a brown skua returned a positive test after it was found on Petone Beach in Wellington.

The H5N1 strain, which has just arrived in New Zealand, emerged across the Northern Hemisphere in 2020.

"This H5N1 strain differs significantly from other HPAI strains because it spreads more easily between wild birds," DOC said.

Have we had bird flu before?

Yes - and recently. In December 2024, a high pathogenic H7N6 subtype of avian influenza was detected on a chicken farm in Otago.

Should we be concerned?

A main concern with the virus arriving in New Zealand was the threat it posed to wildlife.

Internationally, Geoghegan said H5N1 has caused major mortality events in wild birds and marine mammals.

Will this impact humans?

While bird flu is not a human disease, Geoghegan said humans have been able to be infected by the virus through direct contact with infected animals.

"In countries where avian influenza is present, human infection has generally only been found in people who have had a lot of contact with infected birds or other infected animals."

"People with avian influenza do not easily spread the virus to other people," Health NZ said.

"On the rare occasion this has happened, it was because a person infected with avian influenza had a lot of close regular contact with another person, who then became sick too."

What can we do to help?

Hoggard said people should call MPI if they see sick or dead birds - particularly groups of sea birds washed up onshore.

The Act leader has suggested smartphones could be banned for under-16-year-olds.

In a speech to a business leaders' dinner on Wednesday night, David Seymour said it's clear anxiety, depression and self-harm has increased in children and young people since the advent of smartphones.

He has suggested Parliament could prohibit the purchase, possession and supply of smartphones to under-16s, instead only allowing teenagers to use 'dumb-phones', which don't have access to social media apps.

"We already prohibit adults from supplying minors with tobacco and alcohol, for example.

"The object is tangible, the rule is understandable, and reasonable adults support the purpose of the law. A smartphone is just as tangible."

Citing political commentator Ani O'Brien, Seymour said that instead of regulating the platforms, the device should be targeted instead.

"Put simply, why don't we deal with the hardware instead of the software?"

The government is already considering a social media ban in line with Australia's and the United Kingdom's - but the Act Party has said it doesn't support it.

Seymour said a ban on social media is too hard to implement, and won't work.